How We Saved Halloween
by GodlyJewel
Summary: It's been about four months since Will was mysteriously taken to Halloween Town, but now it's Halloween night and Will has decided to take Al with her to party with Jack and the rest of the ghoulish gang. However, things don't go as planned when Jack follows the girls back to the Human Realm, leaving Halloween Town vulnerable, and an old enemy has returned to seek revenge.
1. Chapter 1

**How We Saved Halloween**

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**GodlyJewel:** I'm back! I was so glad people liked my first NBC story and I hope I get the same reaction for this one. Sorry it took so long, but reality intervened (not to mention the plot bunnies had me working on other stuff). Not to mention it took forever writing the scenes from the game. Yes, this is a based from the video game sequel, _The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge_. Also my dear friend, Cosmic Horse, is back to help me because she has been given a bigger role.

**Cosmic Horse:** And I get to play a lot more in this story than the last one! *****does happy dance, knocking a lamp over*****… Did you need that lamp? *****kicks it under a table***** Cuz I broke it…love you…

**GodlyJewel:** *****rolls eyes***** Anyway, please enjoy and don't forget to leave your reviews.

**Rating:** E10 — j.k. It's T for language, and probably for mild violence (I'm looking at you Cosmic).

**Disclaimer:** Everything NBC belongs to Tim Burton and all his creative genius. _The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge_ belongs to the gaming companies.

I only own the OC's…Okay, technically Cosmic has taken claim for Al.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Happy Halloween**

(Will's POV)

Finally it was that night of the year again, one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. A night when people go out — disguised as monsters and ghouls — knocking on doors for treats lest their neighbors get tricked. A time for watching scary movies and pulling wicked pranks to scare friends and family. Yep, just probably one of the best holidays out there.

Only this Halloween, instead of spending it at my new apartment, I was at my parent's house dog sitting. Dad had to work the graveyard shift at the hospital and Mom was in California visiting family. So here I was, stuck at home handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. At least it wasn't a total bore. I may not get to decorate the house with spooky decorations, but at least I got to dress up and see all the neighborhood kids in their cute little costumes. And the best part, I had invited Al and Kat to come over for a Halloween party.

As I was fixing some treats, the doorbell rang. I ran to the door but checked to see first if I needed the candy bowl. I didn't. "Hey Ally!"

"_Mi amore_! I have come and brought dessert!" she replied in a horrible French accent as she stepped through the door. I restrained from telling her that '_mi amore_' was Italian, not French.

As she entered I got a good look at her costume. Al was wearing a double-breasted Chef's Jacket with pearl buttons, a front pocket, and a pocket on the sleeve; a pair of black cotton baggy chef pants, black dress shoes, a tall white Chef's hat, and her special black apron. On the front was a skull wearing a red eye patch and a white Chef's hat. Instead of crossbones, a bone spatula and bone fork-thing crossed behind the skull. The caption read "Captain Cook: Surrender Your Buns."

"I thought you said you were dressing as Jack Sparrow?" I had given her a Jack pirate hat for her seventeenth birthday, and she insisted she'd be a female version of her favorite pirate for Halloween this year.

"I was but then if I didn't wear this I couldn't bring Crepe." Al turned to the side and, sticking out of her messenger bag, was Al's cross-eyed cat Crepe, dressed as a crepe. "By the way," Al asked, "what the heck are you supposed to be?"

I looked down at my costume, an idea I'd gotten from a friend. I wore a full-length red spider web-patterned poncho over a black, formfitting body suit, with fingerless gloves. I also wore my black, calf-high boots and a spider broach was pinned to my poncho. My makeup was done with pink eye shadow, black mascara, and a purple shadow around my eyes to give them a hallow look. I wore no blush and my porcelain foundation made me look even paler than usual, and my lips were painted in purple lipstick.

I smiled as Al continued puzzling over my costume. It made me laugh. "I'm Lydia Deetz, from the cartoon Beetlejuice." She still looked confused so I waited while she processed for the memory. Finally it clicked.

"Oh! I get it," she exclaimed, "but uh… I thought Lydia had black hair."

Well, that was true. I had gotten my costume from what I found at Value Village but the only thing I couldn't find was a Lydia wig. You'd think that when I found the other pieces — especially a descent replica of her spider broach — I could find a Lydia wig too. Sadly no. So I ended up using my wig from last year's fairy costume. It was long, past my shoulders, and had bangs with a side part, but it was silvery white. It also glowed in the dark when it got enough light. Well, that package said it was supposed to but I've yet to see it happen.

"I know but its all I had," I explained.

"Eh whateves. Black is over rated anyways." Al walked over to the couch and plopped down on the couch, squishing her bag between herself and the armrest. Crepe meowed as she squeezed herself free and slinked to the other side of the couch. At that moment Mogwai walked in. Earlier I had wrestled my poor dog into a hotdog costume. He was not very happy with me. He spotted Crepe and barked as he bounded up to the couch and to lie down next to his buddy. I'm still not sure why a cat and dog are best friends, but my theory is that Mogwai ignores the fact Crepe's a cat because she acts more like a dog. That, or the cross-eyes feline has some hypnotic power over him.

Al saw the hotdog costume and burst out laughing. "He's not even a Wiener Dog!" She earned a glare from Mogwai.

I laughed too. "I know but Miss Princess wouldn't fit in the thing."

As I said that, the very dog walked into the room. Princess was my mother's fawn pug. She was older than Mogwai and, true to her name that dog acted as if she ruled the house. For Halloween I'd managed to get her into a ballerina tutu and matching crown. She walked in and looked around as if she were bored.

Al fawned over the large pug. "And how is the lovely Princess today?" She got off the couch and went to scratch the pug in her favorite itchy spot. Princess huffed and went over to sit in the bay window.

"So, you hungry?" I asked Al, ignoring the indifferent dog.

"Famished," Al said. "Dressing like a French chef and driving here with an extremely large crepe next to me didn't help any."

"Okay, there's snacks in the kitchen," I laughed, "and I just made a chocolate bunt cake with a raspberry filling. I even used colored buttercream to make it look like a jack-o-lantern."

Al pretended to drool and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Sounds amazing!" she said, "I'll cut it!" She bounded towards the kitchen. As she reached to open the gate that led to the kitchen, I remembered why I'd shut the thing in the first place. "Wait, Al!"

But it was too late. As she opened the gate a small yellow and brown blur rushed past Al straight toward the couch. Al spazzed out. "What in the H.E. double hockey sticks is that?!"

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you," I apologized. "Dad got a new dog. We have to keep her behind the gate because she bothers the others."

"Dear Mary Moses," Al said, looking the small dog over. "She is hecka cute though!"

Said puppy was at that moment right in Mogwai's face, licking and biting him to get him play with her. She also went after Crepe. The poor cat was trying it's hardest to escape to the top of my couch. I think what made the whole thing all the funnier was the fact that the puppy was dressed as a banana.

I grabbed the wriggling pup and brought her over for Al to see. Which was no easy task. The wild child was wriggling around like a salmon with claws. "Al, I'd like you to meet Bug. She's a four month old bug."

Al cooed at the puppy. "Look at the little banana!"

Yes, Bugs was a cutie. When I said she was a bug, I meant she was a mutt: half pug and half Boston terrier. She has an adorable bobbed tail and her fur was a gorgeous brindle coloring with a white diamond patch on her chest. Still, that left me to deal with her tonight. Getting a better grip, I walked past Al and placed Bugs back in the kennel in the dinette. Poor baby started whining the moment I walked back to Al.

Al looked at me with a hopeful look. "So cake?"

I nodded my head and smiled. "Yes, we can have cake now."

"Yippee!" Al said, rushing towards the cake but stopped again. "Nothing else will rush out at me, will it?"

"No." She smiled and rushed to the cake. I couldn't help but feel a little scared by the way she smiled evilly as she held the knife to cut the cake.

"Oh, by the way, Kat isn't coming tonight." I realized that now was not the best to tell her that. Al gripped the knife a bit harder before slamming it deep into the cake.

"What the chiz? Why does she always bail on us!?" Al exclaimed, continuing to take her anger out on the cake, yet cutting it into perfect pieces. "This is so lame!"

"Now don't get upset," I said as I calmly made my way over to the knife. I took the weapon from her trembling hand and placed it on the opposite counter. "Kat had to work tonight and she couldn't get out of it. They were understaffed, but at least their paying her for the overtime."

"They better frickin' be paying overtime! Geez that girl works her feets off for them!" Al said, eyeing the knife before laughing. "_Psycho French Chef Massacres All Workers At Designer Shoe Warehouse._ I can see it now."

Oh boy, when Al gets in revenge mode, people better look out. Poor Kat. I really did feel bad because little did Al know that I had a special surprise in store for her.

We gathered up our goodies and prepared for our traditional Halloween movie marathon. We had a wide selection of movies to chose from: _Young Frankenstein_, _Van Helsing_, _Alien vs. Predator_, _The Ghost and The Darkness_, Midnight_ Lace_, and of course, my all time favorite, _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. We decided on _Van Helsing _first_. _About halfway though the movie I excused myself, saying I wanted to get some more snacks. While Al was glued to the screen as werewolf Van Helsing fought with Dracula, I snuck into my room.

Looking over my shoulder to make sure Al wasn't looking, I slipped out the chain I wore around my neck. Attached to the chain was my skeleton key I got from Santa during my visit to Halloween Town. Hard to believe four months ago I had entered the world of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. Now I could go back and visit their world whenever I wanted. I remember the first time I revisited. It was after I moved into my new apartment…

* * *

_**~Flashback~**_

_Looking around the room I was utterly, completely bored. Al had riding practice, and Kat was out shopping with her gay friend, Cannon, leaving me alone to finish unpacking. I was happy to move out of my parents' house, but being alone was so dull. I had already unpacked my things and moved them where I wanted them in my room. Meanwhile Mogwai and Crepe were snuggled up cozy by the fireplace. Now I was just sitting on the couch with nothing to do. I absentmindedly fiddled with the chain around my neck when my fingers brushed against the key._

_It had been a month since my little adventure and I still hadn't tried going back. I started to wonder. After all, I had nothing else to do, and part of me was curious to see if it really worked._

_I jumped off the couch and rush to the front door. Making sure the apartment was locked; I used my key and turned the lock. When I opened the door it led into a dark room. Well, at least I knew my key worked since the hallway leading out of the apartment was gone. I felt my excitement build. I couldn't wait to see Jack and Sally again, and little Zero too. Though something was bothering me: why had my key led me to a dark room?_

_Curious, I stepped through and shut the door behind me. I kept my hands out in front of me to keep from stumbling or running into anything. Finally I found another doorknob and turned the handle. When I opened the new door I found myself in Jack's…bedroom? Apparently my key opened a door into Jack's closet._

_Momentary awkwardness aside, I stepped out of the bedroom and began to look around for Jack. I wondered down the halls, looking in the open doors for my thin undead friend. As I looked into one room I saw the furniture was covered with dingy sheets, and there were boxes all over the floor._

"_Sheesh, looks like my room." I took one step inside when one of the sheets sprung to life and flew right at my face. I stumbled back into the wall as my face was rained upon with slobbery kisses._

"_Okay, okay, enough Zero," I laughed as the ghost dog continued to lick my face. "I'm happy to see you too." He gave a happy yip before zipping around me in his usual greeting. "Sorry Mogwai isn't with me. Hey, think you could help me find Jack?"_

"_Ruff!" Taking that as a 'yes' I followed Zero downstairs. As we descended I heard the faint sounds of music, rather jazzy music in fact. It got louder as we entered the living room. I looked around but couldn't see Jack anywhere. Then Zero nudged my shoulder and gestured for me to follow him. He was heading toward the kitchen._

_I walked to the doorway but Zero motioned for me to hide. Unsure why I hid behind the door, then peeked my head around the corner to see what was going on. There I saw what looked like a tornado hit: dirty dishes, the oven still warm from cooking, and the source of the music, an old record player. Then I saw Jack. He was wearing a black apron around his waist, and mixing something in a bowl. He swayed to the music and, taking the spoon, he brought it to his lips and…_

My fingers in your hair  
Your sweet come hither stare  
That strips my conscience bare  
It's witchcraft  
And I want no defense for it  
The heat is too intense for it  
What good would common sense for it do?

_Jack wiggled his boney brows at that part and I slowly slunk back around the door before he spotted me. My hand planted over my mouth and I felt my face heat up; I probably looked like an embarrassed character from an anime or something. But how could I __**not**__ laugh at what I'd just seen? I quickly checked to make sure I wasn't hallucinating._

'Cause you're witchcraft, wicked witchcraft  
And although, you know, I'm mad about you  
When you arouse the need in me  
My heart says yes indeed in me  
Proceed with what you're leading me to

_Nope, not hallucinating. There was Jack, setting up what I now realized was a very romantic lunch for two, and he was singing and swaying like a love-struck fool to the jazzy music, complete with dance steps and spins. At one point he dropped the spoon back in the bowl, grabbed a broom, and started swaying with it like it was his dance partner. I could only imagine he was fantasizing about dancing with Sally. He twirled and spun, and dipped the broom, even leaning in like he was whispering the song lyrics in an imaginary ear._

_It had to be the goofiest thing I'd ever seen! Oh how I wish I'd brought my phone to record this. I continued to watch, hoping he wouldn't spot me._

It's such an ancient pitch  
But one I wouldn't switch  
'Cause there's no nicer witch than you  
'Cause you're witchcraft, wicked witchcraft  
And although, you know, I'm mad about you  
When you arouse the need in me  
My heart says yes indeed in me  
Proceed with what you're leading me to  
It's such an ancient pitch  
But one I wouldn't switch  
'Cause there's no nicer witch than you

_I couldn't hold back any more as the song came to an end. My arms wrapped around my sides as I bent over laughing. I just couldn't stop. Even Zero seemed to be snickering at catching his master in such a state._

_Of course my laughter caught the spook's attention. Jack quickly turned and blanched snow white when he saw me. The broom fell out of his hands, and I thought for a moment his jaw would unhinge from how wide his mouth had opened. "W-W-Will?!" he exclaimed. "W-What are you doing here?"_

"_S-Sorry Jack." I paused so I could catch my breath. "I just though I'd stop by for a visit, but it seems I came at a…bad time." I started laughing again._

_Jack shuffled his feet and looked off to the side. "It's just that well…"_

_I smiled when I saw he continued blanching."Let me guess. You have a date with a certain little rag doll beauty, and were just…getting in the mood." I smirked and winked; I felt like Al, without the suggestive eyebrow wag._

_My answer came in the form of Jack blanching an even brighter shade of white. "…Yes."_

_Taking pity on him, I said, "Sorry to catch you in the moment Jack. I really did just stop by to say "hi" since I haven't seen you guys in a while."_

"_It's quite alright." He nervously rubbed the back of his skull. "I just wasn't expecting anyone at the moment and I guess I got a little…"_

"_Carried away?" He nodded. We looked at each other and then laughed._

_**~Flashback~**_

* * *

After the awkward moment passed, I offered to help him set up for his date while we caught up on things. I told him about school and moving in with my friends, and he caught me on the events in Halloween Town. He had just been telling me about how he and Sally had been when she arrived. Sally had been surprised to see me, but she hugged me and soon we got to talking. That had been a lot of fun, of course, Jack was embarrassed when I accidentally slipped and told Sally about his little song-and-dance number. The poor guy blanched himself into next Tuesday. And it didn't help when Sally commented it was cute, then kissed him on the cheek, but at least he smiled.

Eventually I left so they could get back to their date, but we all decided to get together for Halloween. I even asked Jack if I could bring Al and Kat along. He eagerly agreed, stating "The more the scarier."

So this was going to be my surprise for the evening. Taking my key, I inserted it into the lock and opened the door. A cold wind brushed past my face, followed by the crisp smell of autumn leaves. I looked out to see a haunted forest before me. A lone figure stood there waiting in the shadows.

"Trick or treat!"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Lyrics to "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra, though slightly altered at the beginning. Special thanks to Werejaguar of Halloween Town for pitching this song to me, and helping edit it to fit perfectly with Jack's romantic character.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Thrills, Chills, and Laughs**

(Al's POV)

"Kick his ass Hugh!" My shouting startled poor Crepe but my encouragement could not be contained. I stared as Hugh Jackman transformed into a fine looking black werewolf and started to fight Dracula. He tackled the bloodsucker and slashed at him with his dangerous claws. The fighting carried on, Hugh occasionally turning back into a human and being very much shirtless. I sighed. "Gosh, he is super attractive…"

The movie played on and soon ended. "Hey Will, it's over! … Will? Can I start the next movie?" There was no response.

"I'll assume your lack of response means yes!" I shouted. When I again received no answer, I shrugged and picked up the next movie.

"Ah yes, my old friend, _The Ghost and The Darkness_. Fantastic!" I cheered and plugged the movie in. "Crepe, take notes _mi amour_. What to do if anything happens to Mama, this is what you should do…to the people, not to me ya silly kitty!"

The movie began. It wasn't until Val Kilmer decided to get serious about the lions that I stopped the movie. Will sure was taking her sweet time. Maybe she had started eating cake from a baggie — that is rather hard to do.

"Hey Will, just slap the cake onto a plate and use a fork! I only did it because I was in class," I shouted, growing more suspicious when she didn't respond. "Will? Yore missing this awesomeness! … Will?"

I snatched Crepe off my lap and into my arms. The cat hissed lightly but settled as I stared through the house, looking for Will.

"Will? Seriously, I'm starting to worry," I said, slowing my walking stride. "Crepe, can you see anything?" I asked my cat, giving her a gentle jostle.

"Merow!"

"Me either…" I replied, trying to turn the lights on. Nothing. I gulped, wishing that I had brought a flashlight. Widening my eyes, I advanced slowly, pressing my back against the wall.

"Willllllll…" I gently called. I entered her room, praying the lights would turn on. Again nothing.

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

I bit my lip as I watched Al enter my room from the shadows. I felt bad but what's Halloween without a few scares?

She tried the light switch only to get frustrated when they wouldn't turn on. Then she began to search the room, trying to peer through the darkness. She walked over with one hand held out and began patting down the bed. When she got no results, I heard her take in a large breath before getting down on her knees to look under the bed. Little did she know there was a dark shadow creeping up behind her.

_Sorry Ally,_ I apologized mentally, _I just couldn't help myself._

**XXX**

(Al's POV)

"Will?" I asked, "Are you sleeping and didn't tell me? How are we going to spoon?!"

Crepe hissed, drawing my attention from the bed to the shadow behind me.

"IF THIS IS A TRICK, I AIN'T PLAYING!" I shouted, staring wide eyed at the shadow. The shadow only loomed closer until it was barley an inch from my face. Suddenly the figure drew light and illuminated its features, but it was not a friendly image. Staring back at me was an evilly grinning skull with fiery eye sockets and sharp, pointy teeth.

"Boo!"

"GAHHHHHHHH" I screamed but realization hit me. "Damn it Will! Why you gotta trick me with Jack?! … OMG Jack frickin' Skellington has scared me!" I squeed, jostling Crepe as I bounced around.

The lights came on and Jack smiled as he looked down, no longer scary. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Miss Ally. Sorry for frightening you, but it is my job."

Before I could answer I heard laughter coming from the closet. "Willa Myrtle Cameron!"

Sure enough, Will stepped out from behind the closet curtain. "Really? Middle naming me wasn't necessary. Besides Al, you are just too easy to scare. You should've seen your face. Luckily I got that new night vision app on my phone." She held up the device and waved it about. Realization hit as she smiled big.

"That better not end up on Facebook! I do have a reputation to uphold," I said, glaring at her.

"We'll see…" She put the phone in her pocket before walking over and putting her arm around my shoulder. "I know you hate getting surprise attacks, but this was the best way for me to introduce you. Al," she gestured to Jack, "I'd like you to officially meet the one and only, Jack Skellington."

I couldn't help but squee very loudly. "I think I could die now…" I said. "Wait! I have yet to meet Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman, so scratch that. It is an honor sir to make your acquaintance."

Jack held out his hand; I shook. "Wow, you really are a skeleton…so cool!" I said, feeling the boney fingers. "So, what are ya doing here? Did you come all the way to scare me?"

"Actually no," Jack said, drawing back his hand. "That was just to prepare you. Shall we go then, Will?" He turned and looked expectantly at Will.

"Yeah, she appears ready now," Will smirked. She was plotting something.

"First, I must use the facilities…and maybe eat some cake…" I said, walking out to the bathroom. "Wait, where are we going?" I hollered once I entered the bathroom. "And where are the Capri-Sun?"

I heard Will lean against the door. "In the fridge, where they always are. And as to _where_ we are going, try thinking about tonight's special guest and that story I told you about four months ago."

I'm fairly certain that the neighbors heard my squee for miles around. "Screw the cake!" I said, bolting from the bathroom and ripping the fridge open, taking out a Capri-Sun. "Let's go now!"

Crepe put on a grumpy face since I was bouncing with excitement. "Merow…" she mewed very unhappily.

"Shut it Crepe, we're going to Halloween Town," I said, roughly bouncing the cat.

Will looked over at Jack with a half smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Think she's excited?"

"I would say so." Jack was clearly amused by my obvious excitement. Then he turned to me and said, "But you might want to leave your cat behind."

"No way! Crepe has been with me since she was a kitten. I ain't leaving her here while I go on a grand adventure!" I replied, glaring lightly at the tall skeleton.

Will walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. From the look in her eyes, I knew she was gonna tell me that I had to leave me kitty. "Jack's got a point, Al. Helgamine and Zeldaborne might want to kidnap her for a midnight ride. Besides, it wouldn't be fair if Crepe got to go while the Mogwai and the others had to stay behind."

I pouted and held the cat out in front of me. "You behave yourself Miss Pancake," I said, locking eyes with her pale blue crossed-eyes. "Mama's going on an adventure."

Crepe rolled her eyes and I put her down. Ruffling her fur, she stalked over to Mogwai and curled next to the little black dog. "Okay," I said, straightening my white shirt and tossing the now empty Capri-Sun into the trash, "Let's go before I change my mind."

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

After making sure the pets were tucked in safely in the living room, and I turned back to my friends. Jack was trying to understand Al's choice of costume.

"Hey Al, you sure you don't want to change into something a little more scary?" I asked.

Al thought a moment. "Do you have a costume for me or can we swing by a costume store? Because this is all I have…" she said.

"Hmm…" I thought about what I had lying in my closet. Then I remembered I didn't have my stuff here since I'd moved everything to the apartment. "Why not search through that bag in the dinette. Mom filled it with clothes for donation. I could even whip up a batch of fake blood too. If you can't find another costume, you can goes as a murdered chef or something."

"Okay, I'll go look," she said, skipping over to the bag. "Blood would be awesome."

While Al searched I went into the kitchen to make the blood. Jack had followed me to watch. I grabbed a mixing bowl, Corn syrup, and red food coloring. I smiled as I looked up at Jack's perplexed face.

"Wanna give me a hand and get the cocoa mix out of the cabinet behind you?" I asked. Jack turned and grabbed the cocoa. Meanwhile Al had zipped past us and closed the door to my bedroom. Apparently she had found her costume. After handing it to me I mixed the ingredients together until I had an ample amount of dark red blood in the bowl.

"Very realistic," Jack commented.

"Thanks." As I was taking last looks to make sure I had it at the right consistency, Al stepped out in the clothes she found in the bag. She had on grey skinny jeans, a brown tank top, a gothic red coat with gold piping, black boots, black gauge belt, tan tricorne hat, and a pair of katanas.

"My, what an impressive costume Al," Jack said.

"Thanks." Al turned to me and asked, "Hey Will, where did your mom get this stuff, and why would she give it to Good Will?"

I looked over her costume one more time. "The clothes must have been some I left here during the move. The hat and belt I have no clue, but those katanas are real and belong to my dad, so please be careful."

"I'll have to thank him then…and your mom for not giving it away yet…Oh, that blood for me?" she asked, grinning with fake fangs.

"I see you found my old fangs," I smirked. "And yes, it's all ready. Come over here and bloody yourself up."

She chuckled and sat down at the dinning room table. "Al, sit still," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder to still her.

"I can't help it!" she cheered. "I'm just so excited."

"Jack, could you keep her still please." Jack smiled and walked behind Al to place his hands on her shoulders. While he kept her still, I applied the blood: a few trickles down from the corners of her mouth to the chin, two little dots on the neck and then I shoved her right hand into the bowl, to look like she ripped out someone's heart. I stepped back and surveyed my work. "Not too bad."

Curious, Jack stepped around to see Al's new costume. "I must say, well done. The Vampire Brothers will be impressed."

Al squeed again, hopping up. "Can we go now before I pee myself?" she asked, dancing in place.

I smiled but then looked at the remaining blood. I made a little too much and didn't know what to do with it. Thinking over it, I shrugged and stuck my fingers into the bowl. I placed some under my eyelids and let it drip down my cheeks.

"Okay, now we can go." Jack and Al followed me back to my bedroom door. Using my key, I unlocked the door and stepped into the Hinterland woods.

**XXX**

**Cosmic Horse:** HHHHHHOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLL!

**GodlyJewel:** Someone's ready to party.

**Cosmic Horse:** PARTY! PARTY! TOGA! TOGA!

**GodlyJewel:** lol Okay, lets go


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Party Time!**

(Narrator's POV)

The Hinterlands were eerily quiet as the small group walked through the night. Jack Skellington guided Will and Al through the woods as he led them to his home, Halloween Town. Soon the woods became a graveyard. Ghosts and other spooks emerged from the shadows to greet their Pumpkin King. Some of the ghosts — Alberto, Pietro, Luciano, Sophia, and Maria — enjoyed causing a few surprised shrieks from Jack's companions. When they finally arrived, all the citizens of Halloween Town were in an uproar over yet another successful Halloween. Jack smiled and excused himself from his friends to get ready for the award ceremony.

Meanwhile Al was a little unsure of entering the town. It wasn't that she was utterly terrified; it was just her apprehension. Will smiled and led her friend into town. They entered and Will was greeted by a few of the residents, trying to pry Al out from behind her the vampires, Will led Al over to the four. "Hey guys."

The four vampires turned and smiled when they saw her. "Wonderful to see you, Willa," the tallest one said in a Transylvanian accent. "And who is this charming young blood you have brought with you?"

Will turned to Al and made the introductions. "Ally, I'd like you to meet the Vampire Brothers. Boys, meet my friend Al."

Needless to say, Al was very excited. "FINALLY! Vampires that don't sparkle or have psycho fangirls arguing with other werewolf psycho fangirls over who some brown haired bimbo will end up with…It's very nice to meet you all!"

The vampires were a little put off by Al's excitement. They looked to Will for an explanation. "Would you care to tell us what she is talking about?" one asked.

"Sorry guys," Will apologized. "Let's just say there's a novelist out there who has ruined vampires for future generations. Seeing real, classic vampires is a very exciting thing for Al."

"Very excited…sorry if I startled you," Al said with a sheepish grin. "I'm just a huge fan of real vampires." After the awkwardness was over, the vampires and the girls had a fun conversation. The vampires were intrigued by Al's vampirate costume, and were impressed by Will's use of fake blood.

Next, Will introduced Al to the Mr. Hydes, Clown, and the Cyclops. She squealed over the smaller Mr. Hydes. They were just so small and looked adorable from their perches on top the larger Mr. Hydes. Of course, Al hid behind Will when she met Clown. She wasn't really that scared of clowns, it just didn't help that he had decided to greet her by ripping off his face and honking his horn really loud.

"Ya know, I'm okay with the horn honking, but the face ripping off was a bit much," Al said, hiding behind Will and peeking over her shoulder.

"Just doing my job," Clown cackled and reattached his face.

"Halloween's not over yet, we can still play plenty of tricks for a good scare," added the Cyclops.

Al smiled. "I'm all for some good tricks…just no face ripping off…please?" she asked. This just made everyone laugh. Al kept glancing at the Cyclops, a mischievous look in her eyes. When the three eyes finally met, an unspoken staring contest started.

"Oh boy…" Will shook her head. The others just stared at the odd picture. It eventually lasted to the point where others became curious and walked over. One in particular was curious to the reason behind the Cyclops and a human dress as an odd looking vampire.

"What's going on?" asked the Woflman, stopping to stand right behind Will.

Will turned and smiled when she saw him. "Hey Glenn, how ya doing?"

"Will, good to see you again." Glenn ruffled the girl's hair and smiled so all his teeth were showing. "Where's that little pup of yours?"

"Sorry but I left him home tonight. He never fully recovered from the last time he came here."

"Too bad. I was looking forward to having my little howling buddy around, but you'll do." At that moment, the full moon came into the view and caused the Woflman to lean back and howl at the top of his lungs. Will laughed then joined in. Their howling drew Al's attention from her staring match. When she spotted

"Werewolf!" she said, trotting over and joining in with the howl. When it came to an end Glenn turned to Al, an approving smirk on his jaw.

"Not bad kid. A little pitchy, but not bad." He smiled and gave Al a pat on the back. Only he used a little too much strength and knocked Al over.

She laughed and stood up. "I am a little out of practice," she said, dusting herself off.

Will laughed as well. "Al, I'd like you to met Glenn, Halloween Town's resident werewolf. Glenn, this is my best friend Al."

"So you're the crazy one Will's was telling us about. Bout time she brought you over here. I know many a monster who'd love the chance to scare you."

"As long as there are no faces being ripped off, bring it," Al replied, rolling her shoulders.

"How about a midnight ride?" The three turned to see two witches heading their way.

"Helgamine, Zeldaborne," Will called. "Good to see you again." She ran over to the witches, very happy to see them. "How have you both been?"

"Just getting back from the human realm," Helgamine said. "Thanks to Jack's brilliant new ideas, we scared even more than last year."

"Sweet," Al said.

Helgamine and Zeldaborne looked to see another human standing next to Will. "A who's this young ghoul?" asked Helgamine.

"The name's Al," Al said, pointing a thumb towards herself. "It's nice to meet you two… Random question: where are your cats?"

The witches laughed. "Oh about somewhere, stalking the rats I'll bet," answered Zeldaborne. "We've had our fun, now it's their turn."

Al smiled. "Tell me more," she said, looking with adoration at the two witches. Will just smiled as Al got into a heated conversation about cats with the two witch sisters. Once they got into how cats only have two vocal cords in order make their various noises with, Will decided to step in.

"Didn't you mention something about a midnight ride, Helgamine?" she asked.

The taller witch smiled. "Why I did, didn't I? Zelda," turning to the smaller witch, "lets show these girls how witch's have fun on this night."

Zeldaborne nodded, and then offered her broom to Al. Meanwhile Helgamine gave her broom to will. "Now," Zeldaborne instructed, "just hold on tight and lean into the turns. Oh, and Al dear, watch out. My broom has a knack for wanting to outdo Helga's broom now and then, so don't let it get away from you."

"Wait, what are you– GAAAHH!" Before Al could finish, both she and Will were soaring through the night. Will, having done this before during her previous stay, was laughing and enjoying the midnight air. Al on the other hand, was screaming her head off like she was at California Adventure Park on the California Screamin' roller coaster. Zeldaborne's broom was trying to outdo Helgamine's broom, but Al was hanging on fairly well.

"Just keep holding on tight Al," Will called. "If the broom senses you tense, it will throw you off. It tried that on me, but I treated it like that lock on you locker in high school."

"Like I haven't gone a wild ride before," Al laughed. "Baby, this is crazy but it's got nothing on Cesario when he sees a yellow leaf against the green grass." She took a more determined approach to the task, and tightened her grip. She straightened her body so she was parallel with the broom handle. The broom actually went faster.

"Run away with me? Yea right. Only way to stop a run away is to make it your idea," she muttered, making the broom go faster.

Laughing that her friend was having a good time, Will looked out at the sky. The night was clear and the moon was full and shining bright. Suddenly, she felt a tug on the broom. Looking down, Will spotted Helgamine ushering her to return. Nodding Will called out to Al. "Time to head in!"

Al nodded and angled the broom down. She free fell until the very last minute before pulling up short. "PHEW baby got some ride!" she laughed, prompting Will to laugh along with her. They flew back and returned the brooms to the witches. They noticed everyone began to gather in Town Hall, so they followed the crowd inside.

"There won't be any singing will there?" Al asked quietly.

"No Ally, I'm pretty sure they're done with that," Will chuckled.

"Okay good. Singing isn't my forte…" Al giggled.

Will just rolled her eyes. "Really? You had to make a pun?" Al tipped her head in question, but they had arrived inside the Town Hall.

**XXX**

"And now the award for the Most Spines Tingled by a non-corporeal being…" The Mayor was just handing out the last of the awards. From his or her seats, every monster and ghoul cheered as yet another successful Halloween had been carried out. The applause only grew louder as Jack Skellington walked out on stage.

"Another magnificent Halloween, Jack!" the Mayor complimented.

He took a bow and addressed the crowd. "This year's Halloween was the most horrible yet! Thank you, everyone!" He backed off as the curtain closed, the audience cheering for another successful Halloween. However, Jack was not as excited. He frowned and rested on hand on his hip, while pressing his other hand to his chin.

"Something's missing… There's got to be a way to make Halloween more hideous, more terrifying, more frightening… Ahh… This can't go on…" He sighed and brought his hand to his head. "You've got to do better, Jack."

He walked out from the backstage entrance. The witches had cast a spell to turn the Town Hall into a fabulous Halloween Party. He smiled at seeing all his friends having a good time, yet his doubts kept him from enjoying the party to the full extent.

"Jack, sup dude?" Al called, waving frantically. Jack looked up to see Will and Al standing by the buffet table. To his delight they were not alone. Sally, his bewitching rag doll love, was conversing with Will when Al called to Jack, drawing their attention. Jack's eye sockets locked with Sally's eyes and he eagerly joined them.

"Hello Will, Ally. Enjoying the party?" Jack asked, glancing away from Sally to address the girls.

"Immensely my good sir," Al said with a large smile.

"Thanks again for inviting us," Will added. She then turned to Sally. "I'm really glad you got to come, Sally. It wouldn't be a party without you."

"Oh, I don't think so." Sally blushed, making Jack smile. She was so sweet when she acted modest and shy.

"Now don't be modest, Sally." Jack joined Sally at her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. "This party wouldn't be as spectacular without your creative designs for the decorations."

"You made all these decorations yourself?" Al asked.

"Well, not really. Helgamine and Zeldaborne made the decorations. I just made a few suggestions."

While they talked Sally had noticed Jack wasn't himself. Something in the way he spoke told her that he had something on his mind, something that was bothering him. Luckily, she got her chance when Ethan the Corpse Child and his friends asked Will and Al to play a game of hide-and-go-shriek. When the girls left with the children, Sally pulled Jack to the side.

"Something on your mind, Sally?" Jack asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." She paused, making sure no one could hear them. "Jack, I know something's bothering you. Won't you tell me?"

He sighed. Sally always had a way of knowing when he was troubled. "Oh Sally, you're the only one who knows how I'm truly feeling. The truth is, it's Halloween. It still feels like something is missing."

This was one of Sally's fears, that Jack would try to abandon Halloween for some other holiday. Since the Christmas fiasco, Mr. Claus had told Jack about the other holidays in hopes to prevent the curious skeleton from exploring the other Holiday Doors. Still, there was a small seed of doubt in the back of her mind that Jack would not be able to stay away from the mystery lying behind those other doors.

"Jack, you promised Mr. Clause you wouldn't travel to any more holidays," Sally warned.

Hearing the concern in her voice, Jack gently squeezed her hand. "Don't worry Sally. Its nothing like that. I just feel that Halloween still isn't scary enough."

Sally sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I was worried you were going to try and take over another holiday again."

"After Christmas, I think I've learned my lesson." Jack chuckled. "Still, I think there must be a way to make Halloween even more terrifying… But I'm not sure…"

"Don't worry Jack," Sally assured him. "You'll find a way." Jack still seemed unsure. Sally smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. Jack instantly perked up. "You always do. Look at all the new ideas you came up with for this Halloween. Everyone loved them and you said it yourself, this was one of the most horrible Halloweens yet. If you came up with any more, we would have a whole new kind of Halloween."

"Sally!" Both Jack and Sally looked up as Will came running over to them. Oddly, she was missing her spider web poncho.

"Is something wrong, Will?" Sally asked.

"Sort of…" Will seemed apprehensive. "Do you think I could steal you away from Jack for a few moment?" She gestured for Sally to lean down. Then she whispered, "Truth is, during our game, Al was 'it' and we were running past some old bramble bushes. Well, she caught her pants and now, well uh…"

"Oh! I'll be right there." Sally turned to Jack with an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'll see you later, okay Jack?"

"Yes, later." He waved as Will led Sally away.

"A new Halloween… Hmmm…" Jack pondered the thought. "Yes… I think that's it!"

**XXX**

_Finklestien's lab…_

"A new Halloween?" Dr. Finklestein asked, looking up from his microscope.

"A fresh, new and improved Halloween, Doctor," Jack added. "After last year, we can't just do the same old thing. We should all be inspired to do something different. We need new scares, new ideas, new discoveries." The doctor scratched his brain while Jack went on. The last statement catching the doctor's interest.

"New discoveries eh. I think I have just the kind of thing you're talking about." He reached under his table, and pulled out a clear jar with a strange green substance moving around inside. Finklestein seemed quite pleased as he presented his creation. "I call it the Soul Robber. Take it, Jack. I'm sure it will come in handy."

Jack removed the lid. He was about to reach inside when the green substance suddenly jumped out of the jar, attaching and wrapping around Jack's wrist. "Oh! … Hmmm…" when it settled, Jack pondered over it, giving a few flicks of his wrist. After the third flick, the Soul Robber expanded and reached across the lab. It attached to a pumpkin sitting on a table and brought it straight back into Jack's hand.

"Amazing!" He set the pumpkin down and marveled over this new invention. This Soul Robber was just the kind of thing he wanted to add to his new Halloween plans. He began to get very excited. "Exactly, Doctor, exactly. That settles it. I'll head out in search of more new discoveries for next year's Halloween! Oh Doctor, please watch after things while I'm away."

"Oh now I'm certainly looking forward to next Halloween."

While Doctor Finklestein helped Jack decide where to begin his search, outside Halloween Town's most notorious trio had been listening in. When Doctor Finklestein and Jack had their backs turned, Lock, Shock, and Barrel ran off.

"Jack's leaving town," Lock exclaimed.

"Now we can bring back Oogie!" Shock cheered.

"Yeah how hard could it be?" Barrel added.

They all snickered before racing back to their tree house. Once Jack was gone, things would drastically change for Halloween Town.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** I didn't know the names of the Halloween citizens, and when I looked some of them up, most of the creatures didn't have names so I just used the names of their voice actors.

**Cosmic Horse:** That's always a good idea. I do that for character heights and birthdays by stealing them from their actors


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Okay, just wanna say this now because I don't want to write it on **all** the following chapters. Basically—as you saw in the previous chapter—it will run along the plot line of the video game (chapter names, music, lines, etc.), but with added input from Will and Al. Some scenes will be altered to fit a storyline, especially the ones where the romance was cut out.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Return to Halloween Town**

_Two months later…_

(Will's POV)

"Thank you!" I picked up the case and left the knife shop. My dad had called earlier to ask me to pick up his katanas from the shop. He had them sharpened after Al and I borrowed them last Halloween. I mentally checked that errand off the list. Next I needed to stop by the ceramic shop, and then I had to pick up Al from her riding lesson. I loaded the katanas in the back off my truck and headed out for the ceramic shop. After picking up my order, I headed to Arrow Ridge Stables.

I pulled up the old dirt road to the barn, and parked my truck. I wondered around, stopping to look at the horses before going to find Al. When I found her, she was in the middle of her flat work on Cesario. I remembered the description Al told me about him once: Cesario was muscled and a smoky grey color. Four tall white leg markings and a huge white spot covering his entire muzzle made the gelding very flashy. He had been bred for the show ring, his owners combining a Lustanio, Thoroughbred, and Warmblood into this horse. He had a hard eye but even a horse novice could see that he adored Al.

Not wanting to disturb her, I decided to go for a walk in the nearby graveyard.

I loved how peaceful the day was, not to mention how beautiful the graveyard looked. It was quiet, and the surrounding plants gave it an other world-type charm. There had been a large amount of snow last night so the graveyard was covered in white. It reminded me of the scene in Phantom of the Opera: Christine Daaé visits her father's memorial before she must perform in the Phantom's play, _Don Juan Triumphant_. Only I wasn't about to be lured by some psycho obsessive musician into one of the graves.

Nope, this picture didn't hold a scenery of death. Instead it brought me an odd sense of peace. The snow white and untouched, almost glittering a top the trees and tombstones. I spotted one of my favorite places. In the spring and summer time this spot had fresh green grass, and the older tombstones would be cover in moss. Over looking then was a large weeping willow tree. I live to climb he branches and read a book, or do some sketching.

Since I had some time, I decided to do a little drawing. I pulled out a pencil and my pocket sketchbook (a little gift from Mom), found a bench overlooking my favorite spot, and sat down. I started sketching the scenery, thinking about what characters I could add to this scene.

"What are you drawing?"

"Aaaaah!" I jumped to my feet and dropped my sketchbook and pencil in the snow. I turned around and, to my surprise, there was Jack Skellington laughing at me. For a moment I thought back to when I'd snuck up on him, but that thought was quickly pushed aside.

"Jack!? What the-What the heck are you doing here?"

"Well, I was just wondering around till I spotted you. I couldn't pass up the opportunity you presented, so I–"

"Not that," I interrupted. "I mean, what are you doing _here_, in _my world_?" Honestly, I didn't think it was possible to travel between our worlds without my key.

"Oh that. Well, I'm here to discover new ideas for next year's Halloween. I need new, more terrifying discovers that will make a new, more horrific Halloween."

"I don't understand," I sighed. It felt like my brain was throbbing. "Just how long have you–" I stopped. Someone was coming up the trail. "Crap! Jack, hide!"

He disappeared and I looked up the road to see who was coming. And to my surprise Al appeared on Cesario. I sighed in relief. At least it was someone I knew, and someone could share in my secret about traveling between worlds. I waved as Al and her horse got closer, smiling as Al frantically waved back.

"It's okay Jack, they're friends. Jack?" I looked around but Jack was missing. _Uh-oh, this is bad!_ ""Jack! Where are you?" I frantically looked around until it was too late.

"Heyo Will! I saw your truck so me and Cesario came ta find ya!" Al greeted, patting her horse's neck.

"Oh, hey Al…" _Darn it! This is not good. If Jack tries to scare them, he's gonna…_

"What's wrong Will?" Al asked, slight worry in her voice. "You're alone, ri–"

"BOO!"

Both Al and I screamed as Jack swung upside-down from the tree, scaring us both. Cesario on the other hand, completely freaked out! This was what I was afraid would happened. Cesario reared up, an inhumane scream ripping from his lungs. The gelding plunged about, taking poor Al with him as he tried to skitter away. Al remained firm in her seat, letting the horse have his spook but restricting his path of destruction. He half-reared a few more times before settling onto all fours, breathing hard and with a wild, scared look in his eye. Al was finally able to calm him down, but the horse was still pretty steamed at Jack. Meanwhile the skeleton just laughed and got down from the tree to stand between us. However, Jack wasn't as safe as he thought. Cesario was still pretty tense after the scare Jack gave him, and he wasn't about to let Jack go unpunished. I watched as the gelding nickered at me but pinned his ears at Jack, warning that he was going to attack. Before a word was spoken, Cesario reared up with a scream and struck out at Jack.

"Cesario!" Al screamed, following her horse's motion. She pulled back on the reigns to get the horse back under her control. Meanwhile Jack had been kicked and was now face deep into the snow.

"Jack, you alright?" I helped Jack to his feet, though he seemed very dizzy.

"Bad! Bad pony!" Al reprimanded the gelding, whose ears were still pinned.

"That's alright, I probably just startled him." Jack dusted the snow off his pants and then turned to Al. "Hello Al, nice to see you again."

"Howdy Jack!" Al said, keeping a tight hold on Cesario. "Um, this is my horse, Cesario. Cesario, this is Jack, a FRIEND!" she said as the horse snorted in his general direction.

Jack extended his bony hand towards Cesario, keeping himself calm and unafraid. Cesario glared at him, but I witnessed as the horse's hard eye softened and he extended his nose towards the hand. Cesario inhaled the scent and blew into Jack's face. In response, Jack blew into Cesario's nostrils, exchanging breath. Al kept rubbing Cesario's neck as the exchange occurred. Eventually, he let out a low nicker and tossed his head.

"Wow, he's never made friends that fast," Al said as the gelding dove for grass under the snow.

"No kidding," I commented. "When I first met him, he wouldn't give me the time of day. He only nudged me when he needed me out of his way so he could get more food. How'd you do that?"

Jack gave us a sly smile. "I simply offered my hand and kept calm. Seeing I wasn't going to harm him, he showed trust by touching my hand. The breathing is a Native American technique I learned during one of my Halloweens. It's supposed to both calm the horse, and cement a bond with the animal. I had to learn it to prevent spooked horses from revealing me to anyone I wished to scare."

"Impressive good sir," Al said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Hey, how did you get here? There aren't any doors for Will's key…" Al asked, pulling Cesario's head up, making him snort in indignation.

"I was just asking him the same thing." We both turned our gaze to Jack. Even Cesario gave him a questioning look.

"As I was saying to Will, I came here to discover new ways to make Halloween more terrifying. As to _how_ I came to be in your world, I simply followed you after you left the Halloween party."

"But I made sure the door was shut and locked," I protested. "There's no way you could've slipped passed us without Al or I seeing you."

He just chuckled and folded his arms behind his back. "Never underestimate the Pumpkin King."

I wanted to berate him for coming into our world without my permission, but something bout what he said made me pause. If Jack had come into our world from my key, that would mean he had been out of Halloween Town for two months now. That old sense of déjà vu I had when I entered Christmas Town. I felt my eyes widen and I quickly looked to Jack's right hand. Sure enough, there was the green Soul Robber attached to his wrist. I felt the panic rise in my throat.

"Jack, if you're here, then who is watching over things in Halloween Town?" I asked.

"Not to worry, Will." I hated when he said that. "I've taken care of that. I asked Doctor Finklestein to look after things until I returned."

"That's what I thought. Al," I turned my attention to her. "Think you could pack up Cesario so we can get going?"

"Yes milady. Wanna ride back to the barn with me?" she asked, gathering her reins.

"No, I think I just wait over by Ace for ya. Jack, why don't you come with us? You haven't been over for a visit."

"Great idea," Jack stated.

"Great!" I forced a smile as I spoke. Al could probably tell I was hiding something, but I wasn't going to explain until we got back to the apartment. I'm just happy Kat was vacationing with her family down in Mexico. She'd kill me if I brought Jack home without giving her a warning first.

Jack and I waited as Al turned Cesario and the pair trotted back to their barn where Al stripped the horse of his tack, and rubbed him down before blanketing him and rushing out to Ace. Once she got in the car, Jack squeezed himself in the back and I drove all the way home.

When we got back to the apartment, Jack kindly helped us carry in our things before wandering around the apartment. It was a standard 3 bedroom and 1 bathroom apartment. The kitchen featured a fridge, glass top stove, and a new dishwasher, and it included water, sewer, garbage, washer and dryer. The unit had new carpet, paint, and vinyl and there was dining area with a built in hutch. The unit also has an open parking lot and a shared yard. All we had to do was add in our things to give it a personal touch. What really sold us was the wood-burning fireplace. Not only was it cost effective, but we loved using it for hotdog and marshmallow roasts.

"What a lovely apartment, girls," Jack commented as he explored.

"Thanks. Ally, may I see you in the kitchen… Now?" I tried to keep my voice calm but it was hard to keep the intensity out of my tone on the last word. She entered the kitchen and it didn't go unnoticed her concern, especially when I closed the door.

"Sup darlin'?"

"Al, I'm really worried about Jack. For one thing, he's been out of Halloween Town for two months, and I remember at the party Sally told me he was worried about Halloween again."

"Why are you worried? He looks fine… Unless…" She gave an unladylike snort. "Unless you're worried about Oogie taking over Halloween Town…" I only stared seriously at her until she noticed and stopped laughing. "You are thinking that, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"… Crap…"

"Exactly." I took a quick peek out the door to see Jack playing with Crepe and Mogwai. Seeing we wouldn't be heard, I turned back to Al. "Look, you know we could never figure out how I got transported into the movie, but it's even weirder that I can still travel between worlds with my key. And with the way things are going, I'm starting to wonder if the games are real too? I mean for Pete sakes, Jack wearing the Soul Robber on his franking arm!"

"No way…" She seemed utterly stunned, but only for about five-seconds. "Well, better safe then sorry… You got your Dad's katanas, right? Well, my trusty meat cleaver and sledgehammer are already in my room. You persuade Jackie to let us go to Halloween Town with him, and we'll see if the games are real to, alright?" she asked, already moving towards her room.

Well that wasn't the reaction I'd expected, but hey, who was I to argue. I went back to my room and grabbed the katanas. On my way back to the living room, I stopped by the hall closet. Inside I grabbed the baseball bat and machete Al had hid there in case someone broke into the apartment. I attached them to my back and belt and went back into the living room. Jack looked up as I entered but his smile turned into a puzzled frown when he saw my weapons.

"Uh, Will? Why are you carrying all those things?" he asked.

"Well…" _Crap_, I thought, _How was I gonna explain this one?_ I thought for a minute until Al's entered the living room like a character out of Rambo.

"Because we are really awesome that's why. Besides, Crepe's tail is twitching so that means that there is an invasion of underground crab people happening so, we wanna be safe while we are out," Al explained matter-of-factly.

I wanted to slap myself. There was no way Jack was gonna buy that. I glanced over at him and smiled in a sorry-about-her way.

Jack glanced over at her cautiously. "Okay…" He turned back to me. "So Will, shall we go?"

"Done." I grabbed my key from my neck and turned the lock in the door. Luckily I figured out that if I imagined where I wanted to go in Halloween Town, my key took us through a door in that spot. So I imagined a door and the next thing we knew, we were back in Halloween Town.

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

They raced through the town gates, Will and Al barely keeping up with Jack's long strides. When they finally caught up Jack was looking around the town. Will noticed it was unusually quiet, not to mention the whole place seemed deserted. Normally she'd laugh because everyone was just trying to scare them, but this atmosphere wasn't right. This was more ominous than a playful fright. It was also odd for the Gate Keeper to leave the gate wide open.

"That's strange…" Jack said. "The town's deserted…hmmm…" Jack continued to look around.

Suddenly the gate slammed behind them. Al screamed. Jack turned to see what had caused it to close. Then there was an eerie sound.

"Jack, we can't get the– Jack! What is that?" Will pointed to something. Jack turned and before them was a strange gray skeleton.

"Oh!" Jack then introduced himself. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Jack. Jack Skell…" Before he could finish the strange skeleton lunged at him. Jack jumped and flipped back three feet away from his attacker. He looked up, surprised that anyone would attack him. Suddenly two more skeletons appeared and screamed, ready to attack again.

Jack quickly whipped out the Soul Robber, preparing to defend himself. "You… You're not from Halloween Town, are you!?"

"I'd think that's rather obvious!" Al said, bringing her sledgehammer off her shoulders. "It's HAMMER TIME!"

The skeletons lunged forward. Jack used Soul Robber like a whip, slashing enemies and throwing them against the walls. Sometimes he used Finklestein's invention to grab his attackers and slam them into the ground, or sometimes, into other enemies. Meanwhile the girls were using their own weapons to bash the skeletons. Surprisingly Will was able to slice threw the skeleton's bones with her twin katanas, reducing them to piles before they could strike at her again. Al on the other hand was having a field day bashing skulls in with her sledgehammer, laughing about wildly like a mad woman.

During one point, Jack managed to use some kind of spin attack, causing a large amount of damage to a whole group of skeletons.

"Nice one!" Will called.

As Jack and the girls continued to fight off the attackers, the town's alarm system went off. Then there was a load, obnoxious voice coming in over the load speaker.

_Testing… Testing… Is this thing on? My dearly abhorred denizens of Halloween Town. This is Oogie Boogie speaking! Today I bring you a joyous announcement. First of all, in place of Jack Skellington, yours truly is now the new ruler of Halloween Town! And secondly, as of today, this very hour, this exact moment, I declare this town's name will be changed to Oogie Town! Bahahahaha!_

The laughter died down and Oogie's voice disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Bloody mercy! That's a horrid name!" Al shouted, bringing her hammer into the skull of the nearest skeleton.

"No kidding." Will sliced off another skeleton's head. "Do these things ever stop?! It's like _Night of the Living Dead_ on fast forward."

Al's eyes widened. She hated zombies. "AHHHHHH!" she screamed as she went postal.

Jack was busy fight off five skeletons, while three backed Will into alley leading into Behemoth's Brier. There was a scream and Al turned to see bones flying from the alley. Will quickly raced out, her face fraught with panic. "Whatever you do, do **NOT** go down that way!"

"Wasn't planning on it!" Al shouting, swinging her sledgehammer through three different skeletons in one swoop.

"Are you girls alright?" Jack asked.

"We're good!" they both shouted.

Eventually the skeletons began to lessen until only a handful was left. When all the enemies were defeated, they relaxed. Though all was not well. Strange and ominous dark shadows were starting up all over town. Jack looked around as the shadows began to disappear.

"What happened while I was gone!?"

"Lots of bad business it looks like…" Al muttered. There was a crash, causing Al to scream. "What the!?"

"Someone's inside!" Jack stated.

"There better not be any real zombies here boys and girls," Al said, gripping her sledgehammer tightly.

"Don't worry Al," Will assured her. "I have a feeling whoever's in there won't harm us." _At least, I hope not._

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Sorry to cut this chapter in half, but it was getting too long.

**Cosmic Horse:** I hope you enjoyed some sledgehammer action from me to you. By the way, my horse has attempted what poor Cesario did when a vicious yellow leaf tried to eat him (and me), but merely galloped away and tried to run people over in the arena (as he attempted to save me (and himself).


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Shadow Dance**

(Narrator's POV)

The three readied themselves as they watched the alleyway where the crash was heard. There, coming out of the shadows, came Mr. Hyde. All of them lowered their guard instantly. Jack ran over to him, relieved to see one familiar face. Not wanting to be left alone in case any more killer skeletons appeared, Will and Al followed after.

At first, Mr. Hyde didn't seem to recognize the Pumpkin King. "I'm not making any more traps! Oh, Jack! It's you!"

"What exactly happened while I was gone?" Jack asked.

Al looked over Mr. Hyde suspiciously. "He's not a zombie, right?" she whispered to Will, careful to keep her voice from being heard.

"No Al, that's Mr. Hyde, remember? You met him at the Halloween party."

Realization dawned on Al's face. "Oh yeah, he's got the little hims under his hat."

Meanwhile Mr. Hyde was looking forlorn as he began his tale. "Lock, Shock, and Barrel sewed Oogie back together again!"

"Bugs, Bags and all," continued the Medium Mr. Hyde.

"Oogie is back!" exclaimed the Small Mr. Hyde.

The first Mr. Hyde continued explaining. "Dr. Finklestein proposed a plan for the next Halloween. He said you wanted a 'Dangerous Halloween' — so we organized one to make you happy. He said if we didn't, you might never come back…"

Jack was clearly upset. "Do you think using ghosts and skeletons to hurt people is my ideas of a good Halloween!?"

Mr. Hyde hung his head in shame as he looked at Jack. "We just wanted you to come back. We set up booby traps all over the place, but then hordes of ghosts and skeletons appeared out of nowhere, attacking everyone. Soon it wasn't even safe to be on the streets"

"This is a disaster!" Jack moaned. _How could thing have gotten so bad in my absence?_ He needed to stop Oogie, but first, he needed to see to what Mr. Hyde was talking about Doctor telling everyone he wanted a 'dangerous' Halloween. "I've got to find the Doctor."

Before Jack left, Mr. Hyde said, "Jack, I want to help, too."

"That's sweet Mr. Hyde, but I'm not sure what you could do to help," Will said as politely as she could.

"You uh, don't look like much of a fighter," Al said lightly.

"I'm afraid Will and Al are right, this is too dangerous," Jack agreed. "Please, stay in doors where it's safe."

"As you wish Jack, but please, let me know if I can help in any way. But before you go, take this." Mr. Hyde reached into his coat and withdrew a crystal bottle. "We knew something might go wrong with the traps set everywhere. Someone could have gotten hurt."

The Medium Mr. Hyde popped out again. "The witches created a healing potion to place in the fountain water."

The Small Mr. Hyde appeared, and finished, "Use this bottle to collect water from the fountain."

"The water contains healing properties, so make sure to use it only in dire emergencies," Mr. Hyde added.

"Thank you," Jack said. "Now please, get inside where it's safe."

Mr. Hyde nodded and headed back to his home. Looking at the bottle in his hand Jack turned his attention back to the girls. "Well, guess I'd better fill this up then."

Jack took the bottle and headed over to the fountain. He dipped the bottle into the green water until it was nearly full. He corked the bottle and stowed it away in his jacket. "Now then, I need to investigate what exactly is going on here. I think it would be best if you two went home."

Not surprisingly, there was a simultaneous, "**WHAT!?**"

"No way Jack!" Will protested.

"Like hell we're going back!" Al shouted.

"It's not up for debate," Jack insisted. "You girls don't know what Oogie is capable of. He's already threatened my town, I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Jack, in case you forgot, I already went up against Oogie and I'm fine," Will protested. "Besides, you don't know what else is out there. You're gonna need all the help you can get."

Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but he could tell the girls weren't going to listen. He sighed. "Guess I have no choice. But I want you both to promise you'll stay close and if I say it's too dangerous, then you will use your key and go straight home."

"We 'promise' to use the key to go home," Al vaguely promised before whispering under her breath, "When this is all over."

"Yeah, okay. So, where should we start looking?" Will asked.

"Better begin at Town Hall," Jack suggested. "There might be some clues in there to what Oogie is planning."

They headed into Town Hall, Jack taking the lead. As they walked inside, they were horrified. The whole place had been smashed and looked like it was in the middle of being redecorated. If you could even call it that. There were traces of tacky Las Vegas casino style themes here and there.

"Déjà vu anyone?" Will muttered. Then something by the stage caught her eye. She raised her hand and pointed at it. "Uh, guys? What the heck is that?"

Jack turned to the direction Will was pointing to. Over by the stage a black shadow began to emerge through the floorboards. And it was only growing bigger.

"Huh!?" Jack exclaimed. "What's this!?"

Will quickly readied her katanas and Al braced herself for another attack. The shadow began to take form, and two glowing yellow eyes glared back at them. It was Oogie Boogie! He opened his glowing yellow mouth and yelled, "JAAACCK!"

"Oogie!"

"Something wrong, Pumping King?" the black shadow mocked.

"What have you done to my friends?" Jack demanded.

But Oogie only laughed. Suddenly music began to play and Oogie was tapping his foot to the beat. Al groaned.

"Oh lawd, are they gonna sing?" she asked aloud.

"Yep." Will took her stance. "Just be ready for ghosts, skeletons, and maybe some exploding dice."

"Joy. Good thing I've been practicing my swing," she replied, taking her sledgehammer off her shoulder. "Let's just get this over with before I go postal from all the singing…"

"Come on!" Oogie shouted, and then the fighting and (to Al's dismay) the singing:

_OOGIE  
__Well, well, well,  
__Jack, the Pumpkin King!  
__Finally made it, huh?  
__Ohhh, I've been waiting  
__So how do you like my Oogie-Town?  
__Ha, ha, ha, ha!_

_JACK  
__It's over! It's over!  
__This time you've gone too far  
__It's over. I'm serious!  
__Just who do you think you are?  
__Just because you fooled the town,  
__That doesn't make you king!  
__You'd better give up, surrender now!  
__I'm finix' everything_

_OOGIE  
__That's what you think, hah!  
__But you couldn't be more wrong  
__And this will be the last time  
__You hear the Oogie song!_

_Ohhh!_

_GHOSTS  
__Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__Oh ohhh!_

_GHOSTS  
__Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

_GHOSTS  
__Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__I'm the Oogie Boogie Man!_

During the battle, Will had been right about the ghosts. They were everywhere and to make matters worse, the girls' weapons were completely useless against them. They kept going through the them. But apparently that meant the girl were easy prey for the ghosts. They swiped their hands at them, trying to claw their skin or rip their hair. One grabbed Al by her ponytail and proceeded to pull her living essence from her. Al felt a bone chilling sensation run down her spine. She gasped at her meat cleaver and slashed it wildly at the ghost, scaring it off by her sheer ferocity and desperation. Will tried to help her, but another ghost had grabber her arm and was trying to strangle her. Al intervene with meat cleaver, distracting ghost while Will gets her breath again. they finally managed to get free when five of the ghosts had surrounded

Jack tried to battle Oogie on his own, but he had to stop to help Will and Al. Apparently only the Soul Robber was able to grab onto the ghosts and destroy them. Oogie laughed making Jack even angrier.

"Something wrong, Pumpkin King?" Oogie laughed. He summoned more ghosts, and then began throwing dice the size of large crates. Luckily these were solid so the girls could at least defend against those.

"Give it up ya nasty sack of bugs! You know you can't win!" Al shouted.

"Yeah," Will shouted, slicing threw another die. "Jack beat you twice before and he can do it again. So give up now, you Nightmare Reject!"

"You haven't given me Nightmares since I was born," Al added, snickering a bit.

Oogie growled and began throwing more dice. Jack pushed the girls behind him and used the Soul Robber to deflect and smash them. Then he went after Oogie.

_JACK  
__I see you're pretty proud of  
__All your booby-trapping schemes  
__But I can say you'll rule this town  
__Only in your dreams!_

_OOGIE  
__Heh, that's funny, Jack! it WAS a dream  
__But now it's coming true!  
__'Cause even my mere SHADOW knows  
__Your days as king are though!_

_Whoa oh!_

_JACK  
__Whoa oh!_

_OOGIE  
__Oh ohhh!_

_JACK  
__Whoa oh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

_JACK  
__I'm the Pumpkin King!_

Suddenly, the Soul Robber began glowing blue and when Jack launched it at Oogie, it finally finished him off.

"AAAHHHH!" He fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"About bloody time!" Al shouted, smashing the last two dice and letting her sledgehammer head thump to the floor.

"Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't you," Will moaned.

"Is there more?" Al whined. "Or do we get a break?"

"Will's right, look!" Jack pointed over to the stage where Oogie was sinking into the floor. "That was only Oogie's shadow."

Oogie just cackled. "Beginner's luck if you ask me. Don't worry. We'll meet again!" With that, his shadow sank into the floor and disappeared. Jack retracted the Soul Robber, angered that Oogie had gotten away.

"Joy to the world!" Al sighed. "At least I'm getting some good use out of this hammer."

"Jack, you okay?" Will asked. When he didn't answer she sighed and sheathed her katanas. She looked about the room, hoping no more ghosts would pop out when something caught her eye. "What the? There's something over there."

She ran over to where Oogie had disappeared. She jumped up on stage to the center where a loose floorboard was sticking out. She tried prying it open with her hands, but only managed to cut herself on a nail. "Ouch!"

"WILL! Are you alright?" Al yelled, rushing to her side.

"Yeah, yeah. Just sliced my palm, that's all." She grunted as the sting in her hand began to diminish. "Wouldn't happened to have any cloth I could borrow, would ya? I'd rather not rip my good shirt."

"Yeah, sure." Al said, reaching into a compartment on her belt and pulled out a bandage and Neosporin.

"Nice." She took the items and quickly bandaged her hand. "Now, wanna help me lift this floorboard. There's something under here."

"Can I just smash?"

"Not a good idea."

Al sighed and flipped her sledgehammer over, setting the handle under the plank and helped Will lift the board. It took some effort but they managed to pry it up. Once it was gone, Will reached her hand down inside and searched. "Hey! I got something! Al, help me pull it up."

Al reached down and they tried to pull the object up, but it was so big that it got stuck. Seeing them struggle Jack walked over to help them. He pried a few more boards loose, allowing the girls to pull up the object Will had found.

"Oh!" Jack exclaimed. "That's the Halloween Holiday Door! Now what in the world is that doing here?"

"Got me. What is a door doing under a floor? … Does it lead to a basement?!" Al asked.

"What worries me is if the Halloween Door is here, then what's in its place?"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Really? You had to bring the basement into this?

**Cosmic Horse:** Basements always need to be brought up. And we do not need to air the basement or its secrets.

**GodlyJewel:** Okay, you have a point. *screams of pain and terror in background* Did you leave the door open again?

**Cosmic Horse: **Nope, always lock it behind me. Why do you ask?

**GodlyJewel:** *continued screaming* No reason...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: ****No More Mr. Nice Bones**

(Jack's POV)

As we left Town Hall, I was starting to get more worried. What on earth was happening to my town? Oogie had always had his eyes on ruling ever since I was crown Pumpkin King… But there was no possible explanation why the good Doctor would tell everyone I had gone away forever. I specifically told him I'd return once I found new ways to make Halloween more terrifying. And after what Mr. Hyde said, why would Dr. Finklestein tell everyone I wanted a dangerous Halloween? It just makes no sense. The Doctor and I have known each other for years and, while he's always had a mad way about things, I'd never expect him to want to hurt anyone. I needed to get to the bottom of this.

"Hey!"

I turned around to see Will and Al carrying the Halloween Door. Al walked backwards with her half in her hands, while Will was supporting her half on her shoulders.

"Jack, any chance you could lend a hand?" Will asked. "This thing's a lot heavier than it looks."

"Oh!" I quickly rushed over and lifted some of the weight off Will's shoulders. I helped them set it on the ground. They were right, it was heavy.

"Why did I get stuck walking backwards? I'm lucky I didn't fall and break this door," Al said, rolling her shoulders

"Because you lost the coin toss," Will reminded her.

"There was no coin!" Al all bout shouted, but then sighed. "What's the purpose of these doors again?"

"They're the portals that allow us to travel between the holiday worlds," I explained. "However, Sandy and I have yet to figure out why. We didn't even know of the other doors."

"Until a certain curious cat decided to forgo his death wish," Will smirked.

I cleared my throat, my cheekbones heating up. "Well, yes…if-if you want to get technical."

"So we have to carry around this door for some unknown reason?" Al asked. "Can't we just store it somewhere? Like with the witches or something?"

"Al, we don't know where anyone is," Will said. "Besides, we can't just leave the door out in the open. We need to put it back before something comes through the open portal, or worse, gets out."

"Will has a point. I wouldn't want any of those creatures Oogie created getting out into your world. But I wonder, if the Halloween Holiday Door is here, then Oogie must have taken the others as well." This was horrible. If my suspicions were correct, then it meant Oogie might be tampering with the other holidays as well. "We've got to find them and put them back."

"Well, do we have to carry them?" Al asked. "Why can't we leave them with Mr. Hyde?"

Will rolled her eyes. "Al, Jack told Mr. Hyde to–"

"Help!"

"That's sounds like Corpse Kid," Al said.

I turned and saw Will was right. Over by the fountain a group of skeletons were surrounding Ethan. I quickly rushed to his side to fight the monsters off.

"Jack, look out!" Will shouted.

I turned just as a bone flew by, aimed right for my head. I stopped and got a better look at the skeletons. These were similar to the ones I fought before, only they were armed with bone boomerangs. They snarled and continued to throw them at me. I dodged and used my Soul Robber to deflect their attacks. They seemed more concerned about me, so I drew them away from the fountain so Ethan wouldn't be harmed. While I kept them busy, I looked to see what happened to Ethan. To my relief, Will and Al were defending against the skeletons that had remained behind. Satisfied, I turned my attention back to the skeletons in front of me. There were only three left, so I used the Soul Robber to grab one and spun around to bash the others.

Seeing the girls had also taken care of the enemies, I joined them by the fountain.

"Jack! Welcome back!" Ethan said. "It looks like the Witch Shop just opened for the first time since you left. I guess that means things are safe now that you are back… Terrible things happened while you gone, Jack… Terrible things."

"Well, now we can store the doors," Al said smiling. "What kind of terrible things kido?"

"It was awful. First were the traps, then those awful ghosts and monsters came." Ethan began to tremble. Will got down on her knees and put her arms around the poor boy's shoulders.

"Ethan, I want you to go back home where it's safe," I told him. "I bet your parents are worried about you."

"Alright Jack." Will released him and he hurried back to his home.

"See ya kido!" Al called.

I turned to the girls. "Well, I suppose we should check out the Witch Shop. Maybe they can give us an idea of what kind of traps we'll be up against."

"And store that door so we don't have to carry it," Al said, tossing her sledgehammer and catching it again.

"Speaking of which…" Will walked back over to where the girls had dropped it. She grunted as she lifted one end. "Wanna give me a hand?"

Al sighed loudly but went over and grabbed the other end, heaving the door up. Once they had it, I took us over to the Witch Shop. It seemed to be clear of any of Oogie's goons so we were able to make it inside without any problems. Still, I shut the door tight once Will and Al were inside just in case. Then I made my way to the counter. I was glad to see Helgamine and Zeldaborne standing there unharmed.

"Jack! You've returned!" Zeldaborne exclaimed.

"Is it true? The whole town is booby trapped?"

"Oh…it's too embarrassing to talk about," Helgamine moaned. "We brought this all upon ourselves… Say, care to buy anything? We've got some prime heads and torsos, but they'll cost you an arm and a leg."

Al started laughing, "An arm and a leg, good one!"

"No thanks," I replied. "So I'm guessing there's nothing else you can tell us about those traps."

"I'm sorry but that's all we know," Zeldaborne replied sadly.

"Hey Zelda, what can you tell us about this?" Will asked. I turned around and noticed she was holding up a skull. But it was no ordinary skull. This one was made entirely of crystal. I never even noticed she had picked it up.

"Whoa, that's super pretty!" Al said, going to look as well.

"Where on earth did you find that, Will?" I asked.

"Over by the fountain," she explained. "I saw it lodged in the cobblestone."

"Quite the find, my dear," Zeldaborne said. "I didn't think there were any left in town."

"What were they for?" Al asked, lightly running her fingers down the skull.

"There were used for a variety of things like healing and seeing visions, but most often they were used in rituals. Helga and I had some in supply, but those little brats stole them from us to bring back their boss. I guess they must have dropped a few."

"Well, that explains why my hand doesn't hurt anymore." Will unwrapped her hand to show that her wound was completely healed, as if she had never been cut.

"Jack, if you find four Crystal Skulls, bring them over to the shop and we will exchange them for some goodies," Helgamine said.

"Scavenger hunt time!" Al said, fist pumping her sledgehammer.

"Thanks for the offer but actually what we really need is somewhere to put this." I gestured to the Halloween Door. "It shouldn't be here, but we can't lug it around with us."

"Hmm…" Helgamine thought it over. "I have just the thing! Zelda, be a dear and fetch the bottle in the back. The yellow one."

Zeldaborne hopped off her stool and disappeared into the back room. When she returned she showed me a vial filled with a strange yellow potion. "Just one drop on the door and you'll be fine."

I took the bottle and did as she instructed. As soon as the drop hit the door, it began to decrease in size until it was no bigger than a pebble. I picked it up with my thumb and forefinger, examining the tiny door. "My, that's some potion. I can even put it in my jacket pocket."

"Say that reminds me," Will said. "You two wouldn't happened to have anything to fight off ghosts, would you?"

"Yea. Sledgey Baby wants to smash and Chopper wants to cleave," Al said, fondly patting her sledgehammer and cleaver.

I had almost forgotten about that. The girls had been no match for Oogie's ghosts when they attacked us at Town Hall. They were fine against the skeletons, but ghosts are a far more formidable foe. If only the Doctor had made two more Soul Robbers. It seemed to be the only thing that could latch onto a ghosts, or cause it any harm.

"Hmm… Wait! I have just the thing." Helgamine turned to the shelf behind her and began rummaging through the bottle. Finally, she came up with a rose pink bottle. "Here we are. Let me see your weapons, dears."

Al was hesitant to hand over her beloved weapons but did so. Then Will handed over her katanas, machete, and baseball bat. Carefully, Helgamine poured the potion on to hands and spread it onto each weapon. They seemed to glow for a moment before returning to normal. Al picked up her sledgehammer and gave it a few swings.

"So Sledgy Baby can now smash ghosts?" she asked, shouldering the sledgehammer and picking up her cleaver. "And Chopper, Macho, and Batarang to?" Everyone gave her strange looks. "What? Don't you name your weapons?"

Jack gave her a skeptical look. "No, not really. And before you say anything, the Soul Robber was invented by Dr. Finklestein, so he was the one to name it."

"That's a good name," she said with a smile.

"Better than Flubber, anyway," Will said dryly. Though it didn't escape my attention when Will and Al glanced at each other and began to smile.

"Flubber..." Al laughed. "So weapons can now get at ghosts?"

"Yeah, what did you use on them?" Will asked, giving her katanas a few swings as well.

"It's a very special potion," Helgamine stated.

"One of our more rare concoctions," Zeldaborne added.

Helgamine went on to explain. "You see, spirits cannot cross wild roses, so this potion is merely an extract of the flower. Since not many flowers grow here — and the fact we normally welcome spirits — we've never really had any use for it before."

"Cool beans," Al said, a wild grin crossing her face. "If there's something strange in your neighborhood/Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!" she sang, howling at the end.

"And to think, you were complaining about songs earlier," Will remarked.

"Shut yer mouth ya whelp," Al said humorously.

"Thank you for the potions, ladies," I thanked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few souls, and paid them for the potions. "This will definitely help us. Now we need to go. We still need to stop Oogie Boogie."

"You'll always be our hero, Jack," Zeldaborne called as we left the shop.

Outside I needed to find out just where else Oogie's booby traps were hidden. I decided to check the graveyard. It had many places to hide traps, but I was more worried about the spooks living there, especially Zero. I ran over to the Main Gate but it was locked. That was strange. The Gate Keeper never locks the gate, not does he leave his post. Something must have scared him off, but I needed the key to get to the graveyard.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" I heard Al ask. I turned around to she her and Will with Ethan.

I walked over to them. "Ethan, I thought I told you to go home where it's safe."

"I'm sorry Jack, but I couldn't get through Behemoth's Brier but monsters have possessed all the pumpkins. I couldn't get through."

"Told you not to go down that way," Will muttered.

Hmm, this wasn't good. I'd hope to sneak through the pumpkin patch but it appeared that way was blocked too. Remembering my predicament, I turned to Ethan. "The Main Gate can't be opened. Do you know why?" I asked.

"I think Clown has the key, but I don't know where he went."

Not far off, a manhole covering began to shake. It drew everyone's attention.

"If a giant rat climbs out of there, I'm gonna smash it," Al said, bracing her sledgehammer.

"I think I'll investigate this one," I said. "Will, Al. You two stay up here with Ethan until I come back."

"Good plan Boney Butt," Al said, still bracing.

"For once, I'm not gonna argue with you," Will said.

Seeing they wouldn't follow me, I headed over to the manhole. I easily lifted the cover off and jumped down. Once inside, I saw Clown. He was screaming and took off on his unicycle before I could talk to him. Then I saw why. Seven evil skeletons appeared from the shadows and began to attack.

I braced myself and used the Soul Robber as the first two lunged. I grabbed the first and use it to smash into the other one. Then I launched the Soul Robber at the other five. It created a mace and smashed one to pieces, while knocking the skeleton to the right to the ground. One of the skeletons threw a bone boomerang and it hit me in the head. I stumbled forward and barely managed to avoid being struck by another skeleton. I regained my balance and whipped the Soul Robber at the remaining skeletons. They fell to pieces at the ground, and I was finally able to relax.

"Jack!"

I looked up to see Clown had returned. He must have been watching from the shadows and saw it was safe to come out. "No need to panic," I assured him. "You can calm down."

"Is it really you Jack!? Ohhhh, something really terrible's happened…"

"I'm going to save everyone and return Halloween Town back to how it was. I need you to open the Main Gate."

"It's been so dangerous out there I-I locked the gate and hid here. Now don't get me wrong, I like a good scare… But those things **bite**!" Clown laughed nervously before getting serious. "Oh you want the gate key? Now, where did I put it?" He pondered it for a moment.

"Hmm, did I eat it? Hmm… I'll open the gate once I find it."

I nodded and he whirled away to search for the key. I turned to climb out, but the latter was broken, so I used the Soul Robber to pull myself out. However, things were not as I left them. Ethan was hiding in the Gate Keeper's post as Al was fighting off four skeletons. I quickly ran to her aid and helped them defeat their attackers. Once they were dispatched, Clown was able to open the gate.

"I got the gate open for you, Jack," he said.

"But not before some of Oogie's baddies grabbed Sally and carried her off toward the cemetery," Ethan said. "I've heard the cemetery is pretty dangerous these days. I hope she's okay."

"I saw Will take off after them," Clown added.

"What!? Took Sally!? That's it, no more Mr. Nice Bones!" I ran off in the direction of the cemetery. I didn't even notice Al as she tried to keep up with my stride. All I cared about was getting to Sally. How could I be so foolish? I hadn't even thought about Sally since my return. And now the love of my afterlife was in danger and it was all my fault.

"Cemeteries… Why does she always go for the cemeteries?" Al muttered as she ran. "Hurry up Boney Butt! Your woman is in danger too!"

I looked up, surprised to see Al had gotten ahead of me. I nodded and quickened my pace.

**XXX**

**Cosmic Horse:** Alright! We got some ghost busting weapons now. Let's kick some ectoplasmic butt!

**GodlyJewel:** pfft (rofl) I can never take him seriously when he says "...no more Mr. Nice bones!"

**Cosmic Horse:** That was a good one!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Deadly Games**

(Al's POV)

We continued to race up the path until Jack stopped by Zero's grave. Jack patted his leg, which usually got Zero to come to him. However, no answer came from Jack's faithful pup.

"Zero's not home. Where could he be?" Jack asked to himself. It was clear from his expression he was worried about his friend.

"Jack, I don't mean to be rude, but we have bigger issues than a missing ghost dog," I said, feeling bad for having to be so blunt. "Sally and Will need us then, I promise you, we'll find Zero."

"You're right. Sally and Will need our help. Come on." He took off running again.

Surprisingly, we didn't run into any enemies. When we did, Jack urged me to duck into the shadows to avoid being spotted. We moved as quietly as possible until the path was cleared once again. At the end was a large tree that looked very old, with gnarled twisted branches and strung with some sort of gray moss and cobwebs. Surrounding it were a few tombstones that appeared clear of any of Oogie's monsters. As we came to the end of the path, Jack spotted a familiar face. Standing under the old tree was none other than the Hanging Tree himself. With a quick encouraging smile to me the two of us ran over to him.

The Hanging Tree looked up and smiled when he saw the Pumpkin King. "Jack. You've come back."

"Hello Hanging Tree," Jack greeted. Suddenly he realized something was off about his friend. "Hmmm? What happened to your Hanging Men?"

The Hanging Tree sighed. "Ever since Oogie Boogie and his monsters came to town, my Hanging Men have been hiding all around the cemetery. I'm afraid that Hanging Men aren't very brave."

"I guess we're both missing people. I've lost Sally… You haven't seen Sally, have you?" There was just a hint of hope in Jack's voice.

"And Will. Remember her?" I reminded him. Apparently the love-struck skeleton had a one-track mind. "We're missing two people, remember?"

Sadly, the Hanging Tree did not have the answer we were looking for. "No, but maybe my Hanging Men have seen them."

"Hmmmm…" It was a long shot, and we were running out of time. "I'd better find them. I could really use Zero's nose at a time like this."

"I bet you'll find Zero is in his grave," the Hanging Tree suggested.

"We were just there!" I whined sarcastically. I groaned but followed Jack back down the path we'd just taken. Perhaps Zero really was at his grave. But if he wasn't, I was gonna rage or so help me, unless they were a hoard of Oogie's monsters to attack, Jack's head would meet the blunt end of my sledgehammer.

We managed to make it down the path without any signs of skeletons or ghosts. Actually it was rather quiet. A red flag went up in my mind and I paused. I looked around, braced for something to come at me. Apparently Jack noticed since he turned and looked at me curiously.

"What's wrong, Al?" he asked.

"It's quiet…" I said. "Too quiet. On you're toes, Boney–" I was interrupted by the faint sound of music. Recognizing the tune, me face fell to annoyance. "And there it is."

Jack turned and listened. His mouth also turned to a frown as three familiar voices were heard over the wall lining their path.

_La, la, la, la, laa!  
__Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!  
__La, la, la, la, laa!_

_Hail to Mister Oogie!  
__Jack will never win!  
__When you find our booby traps  
__They will do you in!_

Just as the song came to an end, Oogie's little henchmen appeared. They were riding in their walking bathtub and singing gaily when they stopped in front of Jack and me. They laughed and one-by-one removed their masks and shouted their names.

"Lock!"

"Shock!"

"Barrel!"

"Thank you Captains Obvious," I said sarcastically, shouldering my sledgehammer and gripping the handle of my cleaver.

Jack crossed his arms as he glared down at the three children. "Hmmm… I might have known."

"Welcome home, Jack," Lock greeted slyly.

"How was your trip, Jack?" Shock asked.

"Are you having fun, Jack?" Barrel added. Clearly they were trying to stall.

Jack placed his hands on his hips and bent down until his was eye level with them. "You three wouldn't have anything to do with Oogie's return, would you?" Didn't someone explain that already? Man, Boney Butt cannot pay attention some times.

The three smiled and rolled their eyes, each one of them acting as innocent as fox in a henhouse.

"Who?" Lock asked.

Shock pointed to herself, her answer sweet and surprised. "Us?"

"Oh… uh… um…" Barrel stuttered. Shock frowned and smacked his shoulder with her hand.

"Like hell you three aren't responsible!" I accused. "You three always cause trouble, more trouble than a grey pony in a draft horse show."

"Quiet you!" Lock threatened, ready to hit her with his plunger.

"Bring it on darlin'!" I snapped back, bringing my sledgehammer up.

"It's not too late. Return this town to order — immediately!" Jack ordered.

"Why would we do that?" Lock asked.

"The fun has just begun!" Shock exclaimed.

"Besides, we're on a secret mission to stop you!" Barrel snickered. "Don't tell anyone though! He, he, he, heh!" Clearly, he had forgotten he wasn't supposed to tell anyone either. Lock's plunger beaming him in the head quickly reminded him. Lock then jumped out of their moving tub.

"See you later!" Shock called as she and Barrel scurried away, leaving Jack and Lock alone, or so they thought. The area became blocked off; gates rose from the ground to prevent any escape.

"Now you'll have to play with me." Lock replaced his devil mask and summoned a small army of skeletons to battle.

Jack readied his Soul Robber and I prepared my sledgehammer. 'Bout time ta smash! I counted about three skeletons. Jack easily took them out, but more spawned from the ground. I took the next three, smashing gleefully and I started laughing like a maniac. What can I say, this girl likes to smash! The next couple had one with a bone club. I smirked and charged at him, leaving Jack to handle the others. I blocked the skeleton's first attack before bringing the hammerhead into his kneecaps, successfully hacking his legs off before swinging it up and caving his skull in.

"Lights out baby!" I laughed.

Meanwhile, Lock constantly taunted them as they fought. He jumped around and shouted, "Over here!"

"You'll get yers ya little imp!" I shouted. I wanted to say more but two more skeletons pounced on me.

"Al, get down!" Jack shouted.

I hit the dirt and looked up to watch as Jack grabbed a skeleton with the Soul Robber. But instead of smashing it to the ground, Jack took hold of his end with both hands and spun around quickly, using the captured skeleton like a wrecking ball to smash five other skeletons. When he pulled back, I sprang to my feet and smashed a skeleton that had been trying to creep up on Jack and club him from behind.

"Thanks," he said, giving me a thumb's up.

"Least I could do after that nice roundhouse," I replied before going back into battle. Soon all the skeletons were defeated, and I was exhausted. Jack however, didn't even seem to be tired. He walked up and stood right next to where Lock stood on the wall. He glared down at the boy and crossed his arms over his chest. Though the battle was over, no seemed to have told Lock.

"Get 'im! Huh?" Lock removed his mask and saw all his minions were gone. "Where'd they all go?" He locked eyes with Jack and stumbled back in fear. "Sorry, I'll be good from now on! I promise…" However, Jack didn't miss the fingers Lock had crossed behind his back.

"Gotta go!" And with that, he scurried off. Jack just sighed, but he brushed it off for now and went back towards Zero's grave. I quickly got my second wind and followed after him.

When we got to the grave it was free of any enemies, so a let my guard down a little. This time when Jack patted his leg, Zero appeared.

"Zero!" I shouted. The ghost dog smiled and circled me, barking and licking my face. "Good ta see yay too, Pup."

"Ruff! Ruff!"

Then he spotted Jack. Zero barked happily and circled Jack, happy to see his master was home again. He flew up and eagerly licked Jack's face before circling him once more.

"There you are, Zero! C'mon. We need your help to find some hanged men." Zero nodded and barked before flying off.

Jack and I followed Zero as he flew off back toward the direction of where's we had met the Hanging Tree. I couldn't help but groan as the thought of us going back and forth the whole time crossed my mind. We reached the tree and began looking around for Zero. I spotted him circling high over a wall. Walking around the wall, I found the first of the hanged men. He was cowering behind a tombstone hugging his kneecaps, and shaking violently.

"Over here, Jack!" I called.

Jack walked over and spoke softly to the frightened skeleton. "I'll take care of Oogie's lackeys. You head back to the Hanging Tree."

The shivering skeleton nodded and picked himself up. I pointed him towards the Hanging Tree, and quickly took off in a run as Zero and Jack were on the move again. As I followed two skeletons appeared among the tombstones. We quickly dispatched them only for three more to appear. Jack used the Soul Robber and slashed them in two strokes.

"Where the heck are these guys coming from?" I asked.

"It seems those monster are attacking from the fallen tombstones." Jack pointed to a tombstone that had been knocked over. It was tall and had a jack-o-lantern and crossbones on it. "We've got to put the tombstones back together and seal those monsters in."

"Puzzles? Rarw, alright." I set down my sledgehammer and walked over to the tombstone. I crouched down and tried to lift the stone, but it was too heavy by myself. I released it and sat down. "Lordy, I'm tired. Is it nap time?"

"Hmm… Let me try something." Jack whipped out the Soul Robber and attached it to the tombstone. He tugged on the Soul Robber eight times before it finally sat up straight again. "That wasn't too bad." Just then we heard a loud bark. "Sounds like Zero found another hanged man. Come on!"

I followed after Jack as he ran off in the direction towards Zero's barking. As we were leaving, I spotted another fallen tombstone. I got Jack's attention by cawing at him. Seeing where I was signaling about, Jack ran over and repeated his actions from before. Only his grip slipped and the tombstone fell over. As he tried again three more enemies appeared. However, one of the enemies was new. It was a troll-like skeleton that wore Viking-style clothing and had only one eye. It stood two feet taller than Jack, and wielded a very large club.

I gulped. "Jack… Get that stone up!"

I took hold of my sledgehammer. I was able to fight off the smaller skeletons, but the Troll Skeleton was a different story. It lumbered toward me, roaring as it swung its club. I barely managed to duck out of the way. I rolled to the side and knocked at its shinbone. However, his bones must be made of diamond because I lost my sledgehammer. I scrambled for it but before I could grab it again, the Troll Skeleton attacked. I couldn't help myself and I screamed.

"Allison!"

Jack bolted and grabbed me with the Soul Robber just as the troll's club crashed down, missing me and hitting the ground.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked.

"I'm in one piece so I guess I'm alright," I said, rubbing my arm.

"I'll stop the Troll Skeleton. You take care of the rest."

Before I could respond, Jack dashed off to fight the troll. I pulled my cleaver and hacked of heads, muttering, "Off with your head!" as I worked. I cut a path to my sledgehammer, picking up my friend and started smashing again. Jack finally beat the Troll Skeleton and then went back to try and raise the tombstone.

I watched as Jack restored it to its upright position, glad there weren't any more skeletons to fight. But then Jack took off running again, so I picked up my sledgehammer and took off after him. We ran back down the path and found another tombstone, this time surrounded by more skeletons and another troll. Jack took on the troll while I fought off the other skeletons. I was tired so I was merciless as I obliterated those skeletons — one smash at a time. When they were all gone, Jack fell back against the wall.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked. "You look beat."

"I just…need to-to rest for a m-moment," he panted. Clearly the fight had taken more out of him than I realized.

"Hey! Why not take a swig of the fountain water? You still have that bottle, right?"

Jack nodded and reached inside his jacket. He withdrew the bottle and drank about half of it. How that thing hadn't gotten damaged in the fight was beyond me. Suddenly Jack seemed to perk up and he jumped to his feet. He offered me a drink, but I passed. Tired as I was I wasn't sure I should drink water from the Land of the Dead, healing potion or not. He shrugged and placed the bottle back inside his jacket before setting to work resetting the tombstone. Once it was up, Jack and I looked up to see Zero overhead. He was barking impatiently and urging us to follow.

"Why do I feel like we're going in circles? Whatever…" I said and followed after Jack and his dog.

This time we entered through the gate Lock, Shock, and Barrel had used earlier. According to Jack, this was the entrance to the Old Graveyard. We ran down a ways before coming across a rope bridge where Zero was circling. There, hanging off a protruding tree root was the second hanged man. He was shivering like the first one, so Jack talked to him from the ledge.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't got time to play hide-and-go-shriek. Please get back to the Hanging Tree."

"You think we're playing? Does this look like we're playing to you!?"

"Will!?" I peered into the dark down and just barely made out the form of my friend. Will was sitting in the ditch with her baseball bat lying in her lap. "Hey-o Will! Ya alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but I'm stuck," Will called up. "I spotted this guy just hanging around after I lost sight of Sally and her captors." She pointed to the hanged man above her. "I tried to reach him from the other side of the ditch, but the ground caved under my foot and I fell in. I tried climbing out but, as you can see, it didn't work."

"Hold on, Will. I'll get you out," Jack called. He twirled the Soul Robber a bit before slinging it down to wrap around Will's waist. Once she was secured, Jack pulled back and brought her out of the ditch.

"Thanks," she replied as the Soul Robber returned to Jack. "I wondered how long it'd take you guys to find me."

"Ruff, ruff!" Zero barked and flew down to lick Will's cheeks.

"Okay, okay," Will laughed and patted his head. "Yes, I'm very happy with you. Good boy bringing Jack and Al here."

"Wait, you sent Zero after us?" Jack questioned.

"Yep. When I first entered the graveyard, I'd lost sight of where Oogie's goons had gone. Since I didn't know my way around, I stopped by Zero's grave and had him follow Sally's scent. Then I fell in the ditch and when I couldn't get out, I told Zero to go back to his grave until you and Jack arrived."

"Why didn't you just send Zero to find us?" Jack asked.

Will shrugged. "Thought it be easier for him to just stay in one spot then go chasing after you two, and wasting time."

"Like we ended up doing trying to find the pup…running around like chickens with their heads cut off…" I muttered.

Zero barked again and then flew off in another direction, urging his master and his companions to follow.

"Zero must have found the third hanged man," Jack said, and took off running. We girls followed him, though Jack did pause to pick up another fallen tombstone. Once it was up we continued down the path until Jack stopped and held out his arms.

"Watch out!" he warned. Will and I crashed into his outstretched arms just as a wall of fire blocked their path.

"Oogie seriously had to add flamethrowers? Don't we have enough crap to deal with?" Will groaned. As she finished speaking three more skeletons and another Troll Skeleton appeared.

"Joy!" I said sarcastically, brandishing my sledgehammer.

Will readied her baseball bat as the skeletons drew closer. Behind us, the flames died down only to reveal four more flamethrowers waiting for us on the other side.

"I do love me a good flamethrower, but this is getting a little ridiculous," I said.

"Don't worry," Jack encouraged them. "If we time it right, we may just be able to pass through without either of you getting burned."

"That's comforting."

Jack just shrugged then waited for the first flamethrower to go off again. Once the first turned off Jack shouted, "Now!" and pushed us through. When we reach the middle, he stopped us as the second flamethrower went off. We repeated the steps one more time and then were free from the trap. Once on the other side Jack spotted another fallen tombstone.

"Okay, seriously, how many of these things are there?" I asked.

"I think maybe seven or eight," Will replied. "How many have you picked up so far?"

"Five." We watched as Jack tried to raise the tombstone. "Make that six."

"Okay, I guess– Crap!" Will tossed down her bat to grab her swords as another swarm of skeletons attacked. "Jack, behind you!"

Will dashed forward and intercepted the Troll Skeleton that was about to bash Jack. It roared and continued to swing at her. Meanwhile I took on the other skeletons. I was getting pretty good at this. Spotting a red skeleton, I smirked and grabbed my meat clever. Raising it overhead, I gave it a hard thrust and threw it right at the skeleton's head.

"Al, wait no!" Will tried to warn me but it was too late. The meat clever hit the red skeleton in its ribcage, but as soon as the blade made contact, the skeleton burst into flames. The clever melted from the heat and I barely managed to duck as the red skeleton threw a fireball boomerang at me.

"Chopper! My baby!" I complained. "You were so young!"

Having finally gotten the tombstone up, Jack intercepted the Fire Skeleton and smashed it with the Soul Robber. Then he went to help Will with the troll.

"Come on!" he yelled, taunting the creature by whipping the Soul Robber at the ground.

This seemed to enrage the Troll Skeleton and he swung his club at Jack. While his arms were raised, Will used the blunt end of one katana to attack its thighbone, while I used my sledgehammer to bash his other leg. This distraction allowed Jack to circle around, and attacked from behind. The blow managed to knock the club from the monster's hands.

"Jack!" Will called. "Use the Soul Robber to grab the club, and bash this guy back to his grave!"

Jack did as she said. He grabbed the club and, putting all his strength into it, lifted the heavy weapon over his head. Will and I ducked as Jack swung the club around, smashing not only the Troll Skeleton, but also the other remaining monsters. Once they were gone, Jack tossed the club away and Will and I got back to our feet. After seeing no one had any major injuries, we continued down the pathway, following the sound of Zero's barks. Will spotted him in another portion of the graveyard, just past what looked like an old mausoleum. She ran ahead and stopped just a few feet passed the crypt.

"Hey, Jack! There's another tombstone over here!" she called. She set down her bat and tried to lift the heavy stone herself.

Seeing she was struggling, Jack and I joined her and the three of us lifted the stone. Once it was up, Will and I collapsed to the ground. Jack spotted Zero hovering over another grave, so he urged Will and I back on our feet. We then raced after him, but a bramble bush blocking our path stopped us. Jack whipped out the Soul Robber and easily removed the obstacle. When the path was clear we entered through and found the third hanged man hiding in an open grave.

"This area is safe now. Hurry back to the Hanging Tree," Jack said.

"Jack, there are still monsters roaming the area," Will reminded him. "It's hardly safe, and the way back is too far for him to go on his own. He should stay with us. We'll find the other hanged men and take them all back together."

"Good plan. Maybe they'll grow some backbones and help us out," I offered but the glare I got from the hanging man made me sigh. "Fine. We'll do it ourselves."

Jack nodded and reached his hand in to help the hanged man out of the grave. Once out, we all followed after Zero. We ran back to where Jack and we girls had beaten the flamethrowers. Zero flew past the tombstone and over the hill, stopping to circle a tree shaped like a heart-shaped shepherd's crook. There the fourth hanged man was hanging from one of tree limbs. He was too far for any of us to reach, so Jack used the Soul Robber to grab onto the top of the tree and swung down to the other side. He walked over a small gate separating him for the hanged man.

"It wasn't easy finding you," he told the frightened skeleton. "It's safe to go on back to the Hanging Tree." He reached up and helped the hanged man down from the tree.

"Look out!" Will called.

Jack turned and another bone boomerang hit him in the face. He shook it off in time to dodge a second one. Looking around there were only two skeletons, so they were easily dispatched. Before anymore could appear, Jack used the Soul Robber to raise the final tombstone. With that done, he turned back and helped the hanged man out of the tree. Then he wrapped an arm around the skeleton's shoulders and used the Soul Robber to bring them back to the group.

"Do we have all the hanged men now?" I asked.

Jack shook his head. "No, there's still one more hanged man left."

I groaned. "Are you kidding me?"

We headed back but were attacked by three more skeletons. Jack fought them off while Will and I led the hanged men past the monsters, and carefully led them through the flamethrower trap. Jack caught up with us just as we crossed the bridge. Jack took the lead and fought off any enemies that came our way. We left the Old Graveyard and went all the way back to the Hanging Tree. He was so relieved to have his hanging men back, but there was still one missing.

"Now, where do you suppose the last hanged man is hiding?" Jack pondered aloud.

"I bet I know," Will said, looking to the top of the tree. Everyone turned and there, hanging from one of the top branches, was the last hanged man.

"Have you been up there this whole time?!" I shouted, putting my hands on my hips.

"I'm surprised you didn't get to him first," Will commented. I just glared at her.

Jack used the Soul Robber and climbed to the top of the tree. "Don't be afraid. It's time to go back to the Hanging Tree," he said.

The timid skeleton nodded and allowed Jack to bring him down. He happily went to the Hanging Tree and joined his friends.

"Thank you. That's much better," said Hanging Tree. "Without my Hanging Men, I'm not much of a Hanging Tree."

"Yea, you're just a plain ol' tree," I snickered.

"I just wish those Troll Skeletons were easier to beat," Will said, un-wrenching her shoulder. "Wish your Soul Robber could've beaten them like it did Oogie's shadow back at Town Hall, Jack. I saw it turn blue at the last second, and it was like you got a power bonus or something."

Jack looked down at the Soul Robber. "I wondered about that too, but try as I might, I couldn't get it to repeat that blue glow. I guess the Soul Robber sensed I was in more danger facing Oogie than his minions."

"It was a shadow! Those things could squish us like fleas and Oogie's shadow is more dangerous," I said sarcastically.

Jack just shrugged. Then he turned back to the Hanging Tree and his men. "I'm just glad we fixed the graveyard and got all your man back, Hanging Tree."

The Hanging Tree smiled. "Thank you so much, Jack. Now that you're here, Halloween Town will be back to its old self. One of the hanged men just told me he heard a woman singing from under the ground."

Just as he was about to answer, something bumped into Jack's back. He turned around to find a small paper airplane at his feet. "What's this!?" He picked it up and read the note:

_Jack, hurry back to town! After you left, Lock, Shock and Barrel brought Oogie back to life. All the skeletons and ghosts that are probably attacking you by now were made by Dr. Finklestein and are being controlled by Oogie. These Oogie monsters were specifically made to attack you, and will stop at nothing to track you down!_

"Well, what is it?" I asked.

"A paper plane from Sally!"

"Looks like it came from that direction," Will said, pointing off to where we had found the hanged man in the open grave.

"Down that way lays the underground Burial Chamber," said Hanging Tree.

"The Burial Chamber?" Jack asked.

"It's the largest grave in this area. It's infested with spiders and cobwebs. How romantic."

"That's is! That's where Sally must be!" With that in mind, Jack ran off toward the Burial Chamber, completely unaware his friends weren't following.

"Spiders and cobwebs are romantic? Where in the world did you get your relationship advice?"

"Come on, Ally," Will encouraged. "Could be a lot of fun." She smiled and took off after Jack.

"Fun being the opportune word there. If there are any spiders that get too close, they better watch out for my heel!" I said. "Should have grabbed a pair of stilettos…"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** I'd like to send out another thanks to Werejaguar for agreeing to edit our chapters. You find all the mistakes I miss and I really appreciate it.

**Cosmic Horse:** THIS WAS SO LONG! It actually hurt me… I… I have to go take a nap now…

**GodlyJewel:** Yeah, sorry for the long chapter... that was my fault. I just felt that, "The Hanging Tree" and "Grave Danger" chapters should have been combined into one chapter. If you played the game, or watched some of the walkthroughs on YouTube, you'd agree it was stupid of the game designers to separate those two chapters. So, with that in mind, some of the next chapters may be long, or longer, than this one.


	8. Chapter 8

**GodlyJewel:** Well, it's finally here, the chapter I know you've been waiting for. Werejaguar, I know you've been on me to make sure this chapter included the romance that was so painfully lacking in the game. I had to dig very, very deep into my romance jar and the renewed scenes are the product of that work. I only hope I did enough justice for this Cannon pairing. So, please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Web of Love**

(Narrator's POV)

Jack, Will, and Al ran along the path until they reached the entrance to the Old Graveyard. They followed their way back along the path they'd taken, crossing the bridge and carefully making their way through the flamethrowers. Thanks to Jack sealing the tombstones, none of Boogie's monsters jumped out t them. Though that didn't keep the three of them from letting their guard down. There still were other traps that could be hiding anywhere, and they had no idea what they might face in the underground Burial Chamber. They were almost to the Chamber entrance when Lock jumped out from behind a tombstone.

"Why do you always have to spoil our fun?" he yelled at Jack. "This is the last time you'll get in our way!" Just like before, Lock replaced his devil mask and summoned a small army of skeletons to battle. Gates rose from the ground to ensure the three wouldn't be able to runaway.

"Not again," Al complained.

"No problem," Will said as she readied her baseball bat. "We beat this little punk, and its bye-bye zombie skeletons."

"Smashing time!"

They launched into the fight. Jack took out many of the skeletons with the Soul Robber, and Al was having a blast bashing them with her sledgehammer. She seemed to be getting an additional joy since the loss of her meat clever. Meanwhile, Will chased after Lock. She swung her bat at him, but that kid was like a Mexican jumping bean on steroids.

"Over here!" Locked sneered, cackling at Will's failed attempts to hit him.

"Stay still, ya twerp!" Will shouted. She swung again, only to miss Lock and knock an attacking skeleton's head off instead. "What's the matter? Afraid of losing to a girl, again?"

Lock stopped dodging and glared back at her. "You've never beaten me!"

"Oh really? Remind me again who ran out the fastest when I came after you and your buddies with a _toy_ chainsaw last year? And I believe that high-pitched girly shriek of terror wasn't from Shock." Will smirked. That enraged Lock and he charged at her. She blocked his pathetic plunger attacks, but each time she swung Lock's short height allowed him to dodge. He also summoned more skeletons to intercept her swings while he jumped further away.

"Hey Will, I could use some help!" Al shouted. While Will had been going after Lock, bone boomerang-throwing skeletons had appeared, and were ganging up on Jack. Al tried to help, but without her meat clever it was harder for her to do any long-range attacks. "I'd kill for Chopper right now…"

Leaving Lock, Will rushed over to help her friend. She tossed Al her baseball bat and unsheathed her katanas. She managed to cut down a few skeletons, while Al busied herself bashing and smashing with her new weapon. As the girls took on the skeletons, Jack took the opportunity to attack Lock. Will had been right. If he could take out Lock, then that would prevent him from summoning any more skeletons. He whipped the Soul Robber at the boy, missing a few times. Lock laughed and blew a raspberry at him. Taking advantage of the boy's lowered defenses, Jack whipped the Soul Robber once more. This time Jack was able to knock Lock into the air, sending him flying until he crashed into the ground. With their master defeated, the remaining skeletons returned to the ground.

Lock sat up, his head throbbing as he tried to clear the stars from his eyes. When he saw his monsters were gone, he glared at Jack. "You win this time, Jack."

"There won't be a next time," Jack said. He looked down at the boy with a warning look, daring him to try anything.

"Of course, not, Jack. Whatever you say." Yet again his fingers were crossed behind his back. Before anyone could stop him, Lock jumped to his feet and ran away.

"You better not come back kiddo or else I'll sledgehammer you into the next zip code punk!" Al called after Lock.

"I don't think he'll bother us any time soon," Jack said. "But that may be because something else may be waiting for us inside."

"Well, let's not wait around here…" Al sighed. "Into the darkness we go."

"Hey, you two coming or what?" Will called. She was already at the entrance, holding the door open.

Jack and Al ran to catch up and the three entered the tomb. Inside was dark, save for a few torches to light the path. The crypt was filled with dust, coffins, and cobwebs. As they looked around, it seemed safe to enter, but Jack insisted on taking the lead. He entered; his foot stepped on a stone that sunk into the floor, triggering another trap. The coffin doors opened and spiders jumped out at them. Al screamed and ducked as Jack smashed the arachnids with the Soul Robber.

"RUN!"

They took off running as more spiders and ghosts jumped from the coffins. Thanks to the witches' special potion, Will and Al were able to repeal the ghosts with the weapons. As soon as one of them touch a specter, the ghost would shriek in pain as the power of the wild rose cause them ghosts to disintegrate. Meanwhile, Jack was having a difficult time trying to fend off the spiders. They leapt onto his body, trying to bite him. He brushed them off and began looking around for an escape. He spotted a gate at the end of the path.

"Quickly, head for that gate!" he shouted.

Will nodded. She sheathed one of her swords and grabbed onto Al's arm. She dragged her towards the gate, while ghosts tried to grab at them. Spiders ran across their path and Al paused a few times to smash them with her feet. They reached the gate, and Al held up her bat and sledgehammer like a shield to repeal the ghosts, while Will used her katanas on the spiders.

"Jack, hurry!" she cried.

Jack slashed another ghost before turning and bolting for the gate. He ran past the girls just as they slammed the gate shut, trapping them inside. The spiders began climbing up the gate and the ghosts hovered just behind them. Then, they began to back off.

"Why are they backing off? I've got a bad feeling guys…" Al said, worry building in her voice.

"Maybe there's another way out," Will suggested.

While Al and Will tried to see if there was any way out, Jack took a look around. It was a large stone room that was just as dusty as the outside had been. Cobwebs covered most of the floor and walls, and coffins surrounded the area. There was a lit torch above each coffin, but other than that it was also fairly empty.

Then, as Jack continued to scan the room, his eye sockets fell on a familiar silhouette and his phantom heart soared.

Sally stood on the opposite side of the room, her eyes downcast and her hands folded in her lap. Her delicate form framed by the glow of the only window in the room, increasing her already haunting beauty. She had been frightened when Oogie's minions had taken her from her locked tower and brought her to this isolated place. She only prayed that Jack had found her note and was on his way back to save them all.

"Sally!"

The sound of her name made her turn, and there, standing before her, was…

"Jack!" Her eyes widened in surprise and her hands covered her heart, fearing it would burst from her chest. She had never felt happier in her entire undead life.

Noticing the couple, Will nudged Al's shoulder. "Al, Al! Forget the exit. Cannon moment! Cannon moment!"

Al turned. "Oh boy! 'Bout time!" she said immediately joined Will in watching the sweet scene.

Unable to stand the distance any longer, the two lovers ran to each other. When he was close enough, Jack wrapped his arms around Sally waist and pulled her to his chest. Her arms instantly wrapped around his thin frame as she pulled herself closer into his embrace. Quietly she whispered his name as one of his arms securely held her waist, while the other moved to rest one hand behind her head. Jack hadn't realized just how much he'd missed Sally until she was back in his arms. They physically ached from their two months of separation, only for the pain to grow at the news of his beloved's capture. Jack slowly rocked her as his fingers stroked through her long, autumn-red tresses. He sighed and buried his face into her hair, nuzzling the top of her head as he relished in its softness. Jack felt his shirt begin to dampen and he heard the sound of muffled sobbing. He pulled back his head and looked down at his beloved Sally. Her face was firmly pressed to his chest, but Jack could see how hard Sally was trying to hold back her tears. Despite how tightly she had shut her eyes, small tears managed to find their way down her already tearstained cheeks. She had been through so much; he couldn't imagine what horrors she must have suffered in his absence, and he didn't want to. His heart ached with regret for allowing it to happen. He held her tighter.

"Sally, I'm here. You're safe now," he whispered into her hair. He kissed the top of her head as if to assure her he was real.

Sally had been trying to be brave, but the moment Jack took her in his arms her emotions broke loose. When Oogie returned somehow he had gotten control of Dr. Finklestein, both Jewel and Sally had tried reasoning with their creator, it was as if he was back to his old ways — but it was far worse. First, he'd taken Sally from Jack's home and locked her back in her old room. However, this time Dr. Finklestein had not only put a lock on her door and window, he had also chained her to the wall to prevent her from escaping. Though she could have easily escaped by unstitching her leg, the manor was surrounded by the Doctor's horrible new creations. If she tried to escape, the creatures would show no mercy in ripping Sally to pieces. She only wished she knew what had happened to Jewel. The last she saw of her, Oogie's monsters dragged her away as Dr. Finklestein looked on with uncaring eyes. Sally had never felt so helpless. All she could do was watch from her window as Halloween Town fell to the mercy of Oogie Boogie and his monsters.

But Jack had come back, just as Sally knew he would. More tears pooled in her eyes, and she pressed closer to Jack's chest. She wanted to feel his arms around her, silently pleading for him to hold her just a little tighter, and begging this not to be another dream. The feel of Jack's tender kiss on her head only further proved that he was real.

"Sally." Oh, the sound of her name on his lips was the sweetest music to her ears. Her tears of pain became ones of joy.

"Jack…"

Reluctantly — though wanting to hold his beloved just a little longer — Jack pulled back enough to look at Sally's face. He wanted to memorize every detail, looking for any change. When she wouldn't look at him, Jack gently placed a crooked finger under her chin and raised her head until their eyes met. Her face was filled with pain, but despite all that had happened, Jack saw in her eyes all her unconditional love for him. He smiled and released her chin, only to take her face in both his hands to wiped away her tears with his thumbs. She smiled, nuzzling into his touch as more tears began to fall. Jack leaned in and kissed each one away, then placed a kiss to both her eyes.

When he pulled back they were about an inch apart. Her face was cradled in his hands, and both Sally's hands were resting on his chest. Jack smiled as his eyes fell to Sally's parted lips. He slowly began to lean forward, ready to taste her soft petal lips, wanting to feel them against his own. It seemed a lifetime ago when he kissed her goodbye before taking off on his journey. Now, all he wanted was to show her all he felt: how much he'd missed her, how frightened he was that he might lose her, and the joy he felt at having her back in his arms once again. His eyes began to slowly close as he was only one inch away from pure bliss.

Seeing his intention, Sally closed her eyes and angled her head to allow Jack full access to her waiting lips. Her feelings mirrored his own, and her heart beat wildly inside her chest as Jack drew closer. She trembled as his warm breath whispered her name once more.

There was a scurrying sound and dust fell on their heads. They drew back and looked up to see an odd swirl glowing a bright orange above them on the ceiling. Reacting on instinct, Jack moved Sally to stand behind him, using his own body to shield her. From where the stood by the gate, Will and Al also readied their weapons. Before anyone could blink a thread shot down from the swirl and wrapped up Sally, entangling her as she was raised to the ceiling.

"Aaaah!"

"What's this?" Jack shouted. He was too slow to stop Sally from being captured. He readied his Soul Robber for the impeding attack. Following his lead, Will and Al joined him at his side.

Everyone looked up just as the orange swirl dropped to the floor, creating a large crater and a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the swirl had become a black spherical shape. As it started to rise, eight long, hairy legs shot from the sides. Finally the creature came into view. It was a giant spider, about the size of a double-decker bus. It had large mandibles, razor sharp teeth and four large eyes. Silvery saliva dripped down from its jaws and its mandibles clacked together angrily. It rose on its back legs and roared before crashing back down, bracing itself for an attack.

"You're gonna need a bigger shoe," Will whispered to her friend.

"Dang… These were new shoes too!" Al said, brandishing her weapon.

The spider charged at them. They all moved out of the way so that the spider crashed headfirst into the wall. It roared in pain and shook its head free of the dizziness. Apparently all their dodging had done was make it angrier.

"Be careful, Jack," Sally called from above.

"Don't worry, Sally. I'll save you!"

"Jack, giant spider. FOCUS!" Will called as the spider readied to charge again. It snarled and shot webs at them from its mouth. She dodged to her right, avoiding the sticky webbing.

Al breathed deeply. She never liked spiders all that much, but a gigantic one was pushing her tolerance level for arachnids. "It's okay… It's okay… It just a spider.. GAH!" she screamed and launched herself at it. "DIE DEMON SPAWN! DIE!"

Jack drew his attention from Sally to the spider and attacked with the Soul Robber, but it seemed to have no effect. No matter how many times he hit it, nothing seemed to phase this thing.

Sally was in despair, helplessly dangling above her friends. If only things had turned out differently, then none of this would have ever happened.

_SALLY  
__We should have known not to believe Then things would not have turned so bad_

Hearing his beloved's voice, Jack couldn't help but join in her song.

_JACK  
__It's true his plan was to deceive But that should not make you so sad_

_SALLY  
__But danger waits at every turn_

_JACK  
And I am ready To set things right here_

_SALLY  
__How can you say that you will be okay? And come back another day?_

"Singing? At a time like this, you sing?!" Al shouted. The spider spotted her and spit its webbing at her. "Oh no you don't!"

Al barely had time to move as she dodged the web shots. However, she didn't move fast enough and she was caught in the crossfire. Looking down the webbing had latched to her shoes, trapping her in place. She tried to free herself but only managed to get her hands stuck. The spider took the opportunity and began to charge.

"Hey, Ugly! Over here!" Will called. The spider turned and jumped, nearly landing on Will as she dodged out of its path.

Jack's anger flared as he watched the spider charge his friends. As he readied to strike, the Soul Robber began to glow blue. Jack launched another attack once it landed, this time hitting the Soul Robber directly against an orange pumpkin on the lower part of the spider's back. It roared before tunneling underground. They waited for it to reemerge but instead, thousands of miniature spiders poured out of the hole. They scurried all over the place, jumping and biting as Jack smashed them. Seeing the swarm, Will rushed to Al's side and used her katana to free Al from the webs. Once her legs were freed, Al grabbed her sledgehammer and began smashing spiders left and right.

"And to think, I used to like spiders!" Jack said, slashing another spider. When the little spiders were defeated, the monster spider reemerged and hissed at them.

"Hey, that thing looks smaller than before?" Al asked.

Indeed, the spider had shrunk in size. Apparently when Jack had struck the pumpkin it somehow caused the spider to shirk, making it weaker. With this in mind, Jack made it his objective to get the creature weak enough for one of them to be able to smash it.

"Will, Al! Aim for the pumpkin on its backside. That's its weak spot!"

Al looked up just as she dodged another one of the spider's body slam attacks. "Why me? Why must you come after me ya nasty eight-legged freak?!"

"Just hit it!" Will yelled, slashing at the spider's leg. Getting to her feet, Al rushed to the other side and used her sledgehammer to attack the other legs.

With its attention focused on Will and Al, Jack managed another three blows to the spider's weak spot. Once again it shrieked in pain and buried into the ground, releasing another wave of miniature spiders.

"GAH! It keeps reproducing!" Al screamed, smashing the spiders.

Sally did her best to encourage her friends. She could see them tiring out from battle, but though the giant spider weaken with each of Jacks blows, it was becoming harder to attack. Again her heart felt heavy as she bemoaned letting this all happen.

_SALLY  
__What will become of our dear town? Not that we've let out leader down_

Hearing her distress, Jack was not about to let her take the blame. After all, had he not left town, Oogie's minions would not have dared to bring their master back. If anyone was to blame, that burden must befall on the Pumpkin King's shoulders.

_JACK  
__You know, dear Sally, that's not true  
__We can take this town back, me and you_

_SALLY  
__There's so much danger yet to face_

_JACK  
__But I'm not worried, back home I hurried_

_BOTH  
__If we work hard  
__We'll overcome out shame  
__And beat him at his game_

The spider appeared once more from its underground hideaway. It was smaller than before, but now it was faster and had better agility.

"You're really making me angry," Jack said, dodging more web attacks. The girls weren't so lucky. One of the shots hit Will in the hand, while the other hit Al in her chest. Both girls were trapped against the wall, leaving Jack to finish off the spider.

"Jack, watch out!" Sally warned.

Jack heard at the last second. He turned around just as the spider charged. He didn't have enough time to move before the spider ran him down.

"JAAAAAAK!"

Sally, Will and Al all panicked as the spider began to back of. Luckily Jack was still alive (so to speak) but he was crumpled on the ground. That last attack had done a lot of damage. The Soul Robber's blue glow began to fade, and returned back to its original green. Jack staggered to his feet as the spider prepared to charge again. Seeing he was in trouble, Will and Al struggle to get free. Will managed to free her arm but her katana was still stuck to the wall. With no time to free it, Will dashed over and grabbed Al's fallen sledgehammer. She ran up to the spider and bashed its head. The creature staggered to the left, giving Will a chance to lung at its weak point. She gave it a good thrust and sent the creature back into the ground.

"Jack, wake up. Another wave of spiders is coming, and I really could use some help."

Jack only nodded. Clearing his head, he readied himself for another attack. They smashed the little spiders until they cleared, signalling the monster spider's return. When it emerged the spider was only an inch taller than the spiders they had just fought.

"Uh, Jack, I'll let you handle this," Will said. "I'm gonna go pry Al off the wall." She slung the sledgehammer over her shoulder and went to help Al.

Jack shrugged and walked over to the spider. It was rather pathetic as it scurried around. He almost felt bad, but brushed it off and whacked the spider once more on its weak spot. It shrieked and collapsed to the floor. At that moment, Will had just freed Al from the web. She shivered, then took her sledgehammer back from Will. Walking over to the fallen spider, Al lifted the hammer and delivered final blow, squishing spider.

She looked up, covered in spider mush at surprised Jack. "And I smash it with a hammer!"

Al laughed at Jack's expression to her comment, and Will joined in as she retrieved and sheathed her katanas before walking back over to her friends. Suddenly, they heard a loud snap. Their gaze was drawn up to see Sally. The webbing that held her was beginning to break.

"Sally!" Jack ran right under just as the last thread broke.

"Jaaaaack!" she screamed as she fell, but Jack was ready. He held out his arms and caught her before she could hit the ground. She opened her eyes; she was alright. Jack sighed in relief and cradled her closer, nuzzling his skull against her forehead.

"Are you alright, Sally?" he whispered into her hair.

"Jack…" She nuzzled his neck as she felt her terror subside. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied.

"Heads up!" Will called.

Jack and Sally looked up to see something plummeting towards them. Tightening his hold on Sally, Jack jumped out of the way just as the object hit the floor. When the dust settled, the four friends looked to see what had fallen. Sitting there in the center of the floor was a large pink wooden door in the shape of a heart.

"Hey, it's the Valentine's Day Door!" Will exclaimed.

"Oh great," Al groaned. "Hey, Boney Butt! Mind getting that vile to make this thing easier to carry?"

Despite his want to hold her a little longer, Jack needed to retrieve the shrinking potion. He kissed Sally's forehead before setting her down. However, the webbing binding Sally was still sticky so when he attempted to set her down, she was stuck to his arms.

"Oh!" He laughed nervously, trying to think how he could free them both.

"Need a hand?" Will asked.

Jack nodded and the girl walked over. First, Jack had her reach inside his jacket and grab the vile. Placing it in her pocket, Will then unsheathed one katana and carefully slid the blade between Sally's shoulder and the webbing. Titling it to the side, careful not to cut Sally's skin, Will slid the blade down until there was an opening big enough for her to pry Sally free. Jack on the other hand, was trying to remove the web from his sleeves. While he did that, Will walked over to the Holiday Door. Removing the lid, Will let one drop fall onto the door and waited for the potion to take effect. Once it was small enough, Will reached down and picked up the door and placed it in her pocket. When she turned around to hand Jack back the potion, she was surprised by Sally gathering her in a hug.

"Oh, thank you!" Sally said. She released the girl and looked over to Al. "Both of you."

"Hey, don't look at us," Will modestly replied. "Jack did all the work. Al and I just took care of the mini spiders."

"Speaking of which," Al interrupted. "Anyone got a towel?" She held up her arms, which were still covered in spider goop along with her upper torso.

"Eew!" Will winced. "Sorry girly, but no towels here."

"Hose?" Al asked. "Seriously guys, this stuff is everywhere!"

However, their pleas went unnoticed. Jack had turned his attention back to Sally. He took her back in his arms and held her close. "Are you sure you're all right, Sally?" he asked.

"Oh, Jack. You came back!" Sally embraced Jack back, loving the feel of arms around her once more.

"I got your note," he chuckled. Then his eyes went half-lidded again as he brushed a loose of hair strand from Sally's face. She smiled and, unable to help himself, Jack leaned down once more to kiss Sally.

"Guys," Will interrupted. "Hate to cut in on your reunion, but could we save this till _after_ we escape the Burial Chamber?"

"Way to ruin the moment, Will," Al said, flinging some web and guts at Will.

"Hey, we still have those ghosts and spiders outside, and without Itsy Bitsy around to scare them off, we're all practically sitting ducks."

"Devil…" Al said, shaking some other gunk off. "Let's go kick some ghost and MORE spider butts!"

"The girls are right," Jack agreed. "Let's get out of here." Without another word, Jack lifted Sally into his arms bridle-style and carried her out of the chamber. He didn't care that Will and Al were lagging behind him. They were tired and double-checking to make sure that there weren't any other monsters about to attack them. Once they were outside, Jack didn't stop running until they were safely out of the Old Graveyard. Luckily they encountered no monsters, but Will and Al were exhausted from trying to keep up with the skeleton's long strides. When they reached the base of the old tree, Hanging Tree smiled and welcomed them all back. He and his Hanging Men widened their smiles when they saw Sally being safely carried in Jack's arms. She smiled back as Jack set her down, while Will and Al collapsed against some tombstones near the old tree.

"I'm taking a nap NOW!" Al shouted, curling up in a ball and used an exposed root as a pillow. "No one disturb me!"

"I'd listen to her," Will added. "That girl will dismember anyone who tries to cut in on her Siesta Time."

"Amen!" Al chimed in, fist pumping before konking out.

"So Jack, what's the plan now?" Will asked.

Jack face was stern as he turned to Sally. "First thing would be to get you somewhere safe, Sally. After everything that's happened, I'm not going anywhere until I know you're protected. Perhaps you can stay with Helgamine and Zeldaborne."

Will groaned. "Jack, the girl's not made of glass. Besides, don't we have something more important to do? Like, I don't know, stop Oogie from ruining Halloween for his own sick game? Not to mention figure out why he hide the Holiday Doors."

"Shhhh! I'm napping over here!" Al said, swatting vaguely around her.

Will rolled her eyes and swatted back. "Actually, what I really wanna know is how the heck Oogie got control in the first place?"

"That was bothering me as well," Jack said. "Mr. Hyde said Dr. Finklestein told everyone I wanted Halloween to be more dangerous. But how could that be? I've known the Doctor for a long time, but I just can't understand why he would do this?"

"Jack, you have to rescue Dr. Finklestein!" Sally intervened, grabbing everyone's attention. "A few days after you left, Dr. Finklestein came over to the house and demanded I return to the lab immediately. When I got there, Jewel warned me that I shouldn't have come, but before she could get me out, Oogie's monster grabbed us. They took Jewel away and I was locked in my room. Before we were separated, Jewel gave me this."

Then, taking a step back, Sally began undoing the stitching from her left wrist. Before Jack could ask what she was doing, an odd looking metal key fell into her open palm. It was shaped like the dome on top of the Doctor's manor. Sally handed Jack the key.

"This key opens the gate to his manor. I was able to hide it by keeping it inside my wrist."

"Nicely done, Sally," Will complimented.

He took the key as Sally reached for her hidden needle and thread. "Thanks, Sally. I'm glad you're safe."

Feeling bashful, Sally turned so her back was to Jack while she restitched her hand. "We're all safe now that our Pumpkin King has returned."

"Pumpkin King? Sally, that's it!" Jack exclaimed.

She finished fixing her wrist and turned back to Jack. "What's it?"

"I am the Pumpkin King and I can use my Pumpkin Fire to fight Oogie and his army. Good thinking, Sally!"

"Thank you, Jack."

"No," Jack took her in his arms, "thank you, Sally." He lifted her arm and kissed her newly stitched wrist. As she blushed Jack smiled devilishly. Moving his hand to capture Sally's face, he leaned down and finally gave her the kiss he'd wanted to give her since his return. Sally's eyes closed as she melted into the kiss. Unlike their previous kisses during their courtship — each one had been chaste and endearing — this one held two months of pent up passion. Sally's arms delicately intertwined around Jack's neck, and she leaned up on her toes to get closer. Jack cradled the back of her head in one hand while his other splayed across her back. He pulled her as close as possible, deepening the kiss — completely unaware of the others around him.

"Ahem!"

Jack and Sally pulled back to see Will and Al angrily glaring at Jack. Will had her arms crossed over her chest, and a clearly annoyed expression etched deep into her face. Meanwhile, Al had woken from her nap and her eyes were narrowed in a hard glare. Both girls looked ready to attack.

Jack stared at them, thoroughly confused. "What?"

"You can make fire this _whole bloody time_?!" Al shouted as she grit her teeth. "And you're just telling us **NOW!?**"

**XXX**

**Cosmic Horse:** Never EVER interrupt an Al nap.

**GodlyJewel:** It's true, she'll kill you…like what she's about to do to Jack in the next chapter.

**Jack:** What did I do?

**Al:** YOU KEPT ME UP YA BONEY BUTT!

**GodlyJewel:** Jack, you may want to run now.

**Cosmic Horse:** Running is a very good idea sir.

**Jack:** *****has left the room*****

**Al:** Can I nap now?

**Cosmic Horse:** During the break, yes.

**GodlyJewel:** In case anyone wondered, I had to cut the song short because, honestly, if the whole thing was put in, it would repeat the whole thing twice before any new lyrics appeared. Hope you still enjoyed this chapter, and please, please leave reviews. Really would like to know what you thought of the romance added between Jack and Sally.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Hunt for Igor's Biscuit**

(Will's POV)

Al and I continued glaring down Jack as he stared at us with wide-open eye sockets. Truth be told, I knew in the video game Jack could use fire. I also knew he was fireproof since in the movie he set himself on fire, and he'd done it again at the Halloween party. But to find out now — after all the danger and enemies we've faced — he just **now** remembered this little power of his? Good thing Dad hadn't given me Grandpa's gun yet, or I would've blown Jack's skull right off his neck!

"Seriously!? You have powers!?" I shouted.

"Well… Yes."

"And you just now decided to let us know that you can use them? What a fart!" Al said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Well, I don't use them except for a few tricks at Halloween," Jack defended.

I slapped my palm against my forehead. "Jack, do you realize how many times that little bit of information could have helped us?" Jack was silent. Clearly he did realize but obviously he didn't want to discuss it. "Just what, exactly, can you do, Mr. Pumpkin King?"

Jack sighed. He took a step away from Sally and told all of us to stand back. Once Jack deemed we were far enough, he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. Suddenly, his whole body was encased in flame. Al stared with sheer amazement on her face, and I also couldn't take my eyes off the sight. Jack's pinstripe suit had shifted into the pumpkin-headed scarecrow look I recognized from the beginning of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. A tattered red shirt, with ripped flared sleeves and ragged tailcoats, replaced his dress shirt and jacket. His legs looked two thin, pole-like bales of hay tied with string at his thighs, knees, and ankles. His boney hands looked like they had turned to wood, remind me of a pair of branches used for a snowman's arms. And to top it all off, a flaming jack-o-lantern now replaced Jack's head.

"Holy flaming pumpkins, Batman!" Al said, pointing wildly. "You look like a badass, sir!"

"Okay, so you look pretty frightening, but just how does this invoke your so-called Pumpkin Fire?" I asked, still slightly annoyed.

Jack didn't answer but instead raised a twig-like hand and gestured for us to wait. Then he turned and, carefully aiming at a far off tombstone, he inhaled and blew a stream of fire about ten feet. The tombstone was charred to an ashy black, along with anything else that stood in the line of fire.

"Okay, I'm impressed," I said.

But Jack wasn't done yet. He ran over to the tombstone and paused for a moment. Then he brought his hands to his center and thrust them out to his sides. As he did so, a ring of fire burst forth from his core and scorched everything around him within a five-foot radius. When the flames subsided, Jack returned to normal self and walked back over to us.

"Not to shabby, sir, but that would have been _very_ helpful earlier," Al complained. "That would have handled numerous skeletons that we wasted energy on smashing!""

"Sorry I didn't tell you, but as I said, I really only use it for show?" Jack explained.

"So you need to be looking like a scarecrow to use that firepower?" I asked.

Jack blanched. "Well…not necessarily. I can throw a few fireballs on my own, but taking on my Pumpkin King form allows me to summon more powerful attacks."

"Again, really could have used those earlier." I saw out of the corner of my eye Al nodding in agreement.

"Well, might as well put that 'new' power to good use and go get the good-turned-evil mad doctor," Al said, shrugging.

"Yeah, lets go. Sally, will you and Hanging Tree be okay here?" I asked. I knew Sally couldn't come with us, but I wondered how Jack would react to leaving his girlfriend after the spider incident.

"No! I'm not leaving Sally!" Jack protested. As if to further his decision he placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. His stance literally had "Mine!" written all over it.

"I'll keep an eye on Sally," Hanging Tree volunteered. "You have to stop Oogie Boogie."

"But-"

"Jack, they're right," Sally piped in. She gently placed a hand on his chest. "I'll only be in the way. Please, rescue Doctor Finkelstein and save the town from Oogie."

Jack sighed. He couldn't refuse Sally, but he didn't want to leave her either. "Sally, I know but… I just can't leave knowing you could be taken again. I just got you back."

I figured Jack would be reluctant to leave her behind, and now that I thought about it, Sally could easily be kidnapped again if we left her alone. It had already happened, and who's to say it wouldn't happen again? Oogie could easily use Sally as leverage against Jack, and that would only complicate things further.

"No, Jack has a point. Al, give her your sledgehammer. Sally is coming with us, and she'll need something to fight with."

"What?! No way! I've already lost Chopper and now you want me to give up Sledgy Baby?" Al asked, cradling her sledgehammer.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine." Al could be such a baby when it came to her weapons. I walked over to Sally and gave her Al's baseball bat. "Here. Use this."

"Yeah, that works way better. Batarang will take great care of you, and is way lighter than Sledgy Baby," Al said smiling.

I smiled and walked over to Al. I slipped her machete off my belt loop and handed it to her. "And you can take this, since your meat cleaver melted."

"Macho! You have returned to me!" Al cried, cuddling the machete.

"Okay, with that out of the way, lets go!" I said.

I watched as Jack kissed Sally one more time before grabbing her hand, and running ahead of me to the Doctor's manor. Al and I followed after them and soon we were back in town. Luckily there weren't any more enemies when we reached the gate. Jack went in front and used the key.

"I sure hope the Doctor is okay…" Jack muttered to himself. Once the gate was opened we all stepped inside. Then we saw why there weren't any monster in the Town Square. The entire path leading up to the Doctor's manor was filled with electric fences. They were too high for us to climb over, and there was no room to slip between the electric bars. We couldn't climb around them, because the surrounding frame was made of metal, making a perfect conductor for the electric currents.

"Holy electric fences, Batman!" Al cried.

"Al, enough with the Batman puns," I groaned. "Not everyone here understands them."

"Well, fine then!" Al said, mock pouting. "I'll stop with the Batman puns…for now."

I just ignored her. Right now we had to focus on shutting off the electricity. "Well, any ideas?"

"I think Dr. Finkelstein has an off switch down that way," Sally said. She was pointing down an open path with a large metal structure. "The switch should be just inside that tower."

The pathway seemed clear but there was a little red flag going up in my mind. Still, if we didn't shut off the power then we'd never get into the Doctor's manor.

"We're going down there, aren't we?"

"Look's like…" Al said. She started running down the pathway. Just as she reached the tower, something popped up from the ground and began to attack her. "Aaaaah!"

"Al!" I unsheathed my katanas and raced to her side. She was on the ground as vampire teddy bears and Gumpies attacked her. I slashed at them until Al was able to get to her feet. She drew her machete and hacked limbs off the vampire teddy bears before sheathing her blade and taking up her sledgehammer to smash the parts into nothingness. I looked back to make sure Al was all right when I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I dropped to the ground and turned to see a spiked ball had hit me. They were being shot from a far off gargoyle statue.

"Will, you okay?" Al asked.

"I'm fine." Though my shoulder stung from the pain, I didn't have time to notice. The vampire teddy was coming my way and I had to defend myself. Using my good arm, I raised my katana for attack. Suddenly the teddy was ripped from my path. I looked over to see Jack using the soul Robber to strike the demonic toy. He had his left arm around Sally, trying to use his body to shield her from the attacks. In a way, it reminded me of a scene out of Indiana Jones.

"Will!" he yelled as another Gumpy attacked. "Get to the switch! We'll hold them off."

I nodded and made a break for the electric switch. I checked the bottom but it appeared I would have to climb to the next level to get to it. That was perfect. I get a busted shoulder and I have to climb. But I couldn't do much to help with the monsters, so taking a deep breath I began the climb. The strain pulled at my shoulder, and I had to grit my teeth against the pain. I kept climbing but there was a problem. There was no way for me to reach the next level. I looked around and saw the structure was next to a cobblestone wall. The wall was higher up and would provide an extra lift, but I could've been wrong. I slid off and ran to the wall, ducking and dodging the fighting. Al and Jack were doing pretty good by themselves, but Jack was having more trouble since he had to protect Sally.

Thinking quickly, I called out, "Sally, little help?"

She looked to Jack and getting a nod from him, ran over to help me. We climbed up the wall and after giving me a boost (it was higher than I'd originally thought), I helped Sally up to the top. Looking around I was surprised there were no monsters waiting for us.

"There's the switch," Sally said, pointing to the other side of the platform. We ran over to it, but the path was boarded up. Sally and I tried to pry them open, but they were too strong. Taking the baseball bat from Sally, I bashed at the boards until there was an opening big enough for us to get through.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I grabbed my shoulder and winced from the pain. Pulling my hand back, there was a little blood.

Seeing I was preoccupied, Sally quickly rushed over and turned off the switch. I heard the electric buzz die down, telling me we'd found the correct switch. Once done, Sally rushed over and examined my shoulder.

"It's not deep but we'd better wrap it up."

"Why does it feel like you're always patching me up every time I visit?" I joked.

She smiled and then helped me over to the side. Looking down we could see Jack and Al waving at us. Apparently the monsters had left once the fences were turned off. I smiled until I realized Sally and I needed to climb down. Great! More pain for my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and sat down near one of the platform's metal legs. I eased myself over until my feet were against the metal. Once I felt secure, I began to the climb down. I looked up to see Sally following behind me. I was about halfway down when I felt two boney hands on my waist.

"Here, let me help," Jack offered. I let go of the bar and Jack placed me on the ground. He repeated the action for Sally, and soon we were all back together.

"Um, you've got some blood on you…" Al said, pointing at the now dried blood on my shoulder.

"Just a scratch, but it'll probably be a bad bruise." I turned to Jack. "Think I could borrow that bottle of fountain water?"

His smile turned to an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry, but during the fight I got hit and the bottle was broken."

"Hey, not your fault. I figured it was bound to get smashed, being in your pocket the whole time. Seriously, once we save the Doc, we should really think about getting a backpack or something to keep all the important stuff in."

"I agree. Now, let's head that way," Al pointed with her machete toward the manor. "Tallyho!"

We all headed off down the pathway after her. We were a good ten feet away from the manor when we had to stop. Dr. Finklestein's lab assistant, Igor, stood in the center of the path, his arms outstretched to prevent anyone from passing.

"Igor!" Jack exclaimed. "Where's Dr. Finklestein!?"

Igor lowered his arms and shook his head. "Sorry, Igor under strict orders. Not let anyone pass."

"But, we're here to rescue the Doctor from Oogie!"

Again, he shook his head. "Igor sorry… But Master says if Igor let anyone through, no biscuit."

"Please, Igor, you must let us pass," Sally pleaded.

Igor patted his growling stomach. "Ohhh, Igor starving! … Th-the Witch Shop… You get Igor biscuit, huh?"

"A biscuit? Seriously? You're going to make us go all the way back to town to get you a biscuit? Why don't you let us pass and go get it yourself?" Al asked, gesturing with her machete before almost hitting me, so she sheathed it with an apologetic smile. I glared at her, but she did have a point. Honestly, Igor wasn't much of a fighter. It would be easy to pass him.

Igor shrieked and began to tremble violently. "No, no! Igor no do that! Master be angry, very angry!"

"He won't move. Igor has never disobeyed Dr. Finklestein," Sally said sadly.

Jack sighed, and started to talk to Igor like he would a small child. "Okay, Igor. If I bring you a biscuit you'll let us pass?"

Igor got really excited. He began clapping and jumping up and down. "Yes, Igor do for Jack! Hurry… Igor starving!"

"Let's go get the flipping biscuit," Al groaned, making fists and stomping away.

Everyone began walking away, but halfway I stopped. Sally noticed and motioned for the others to stop.

"Will, what's the matter?" Jack asked.

"Honestly, do all of us need to go buy the biscuit?" I asked. "I mean, there's four of us, and it just seems simpler to go around Igor."

Al facepalmed herself. "Gosh, sometimes, the old brain just turns off."

"But I already promised to get Igor a biscuit," Jack said.

"Jack, Will and Al have a point." We all turned to look at Sally. "Well, what I mean is, we could always look for another way inside."

Jack pondered the thought, but then he shook his skull. "No, I made Igor a promise. But if you know of another entrance, Sally, then perhaps…"

"Believe me, Jack, if I knew of another way in, I would have used it instead–" Sally quickly shut her mouth. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks took on a pink tint. "N-Never mind. Let's go to the Witch Shop."

"Sally?" Jack reached out for her but she kept walking.

"You know something, Sally," Al said, jogging in front of her. "Spill little lady!"

"R-Really, i-it's nothing," she stuttered.

"Sally, something's bothering you," Jack said. "Please, tell us what's wrong."

Looking at the conflicting emotions on her face. Suddenly I figured out why Sally was so nervous. Apparently she and Jack had yet to discuss her previous living conditions with the Doctor. I decided to cut her a little slack.

"Guys, don't we have a town to save. Now, how about Jack and I go get Igor his biscuit, and Sally and Al can go look for a possible entrance. Hey who knows? Maybe you guys will find another Crystal Skull. Ally, you said you wanted to go on a Scavenger Hunt."

"Oh yea! That cool with you, Sally?" Al asked, smiling brightly at her favorite character.

"Oh yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea," she quickly agreed.

"Great." Before Jack could voice his protest, I grabbed his arm and ran off to the Witch Shop. At least I bought Sally some time, but honestly, you'd think they would have had this talk already.

In no time we arrived back in town. Jack pulled me over to the fountain and insisted I put some water on my shoulder while he went to buy the biscuit. I rolled my eyes, but dipped my hand into the water. That was definitely a weird experience. It felt like any other time I'd stuck my hand into water, yet at the same time the fountain's water had a slight slimy texture to it. At first I thought there might be some kind of algae or sludge, but when I looked at the water cupped in my hand it was just water. I shrugged and splashed it onto my shoulder. Once the water touched my skin the cuts from the spikes vanished, and the purple and blue bruise that was starting to form also disappeared. I loosened up my shoulder to test how much better it had gotten. Suddenly, there was a loud crash. I turned to see the area around the Witch Shop had been closed off. Oh great, here we go again. I ran over to see Jack being taunted by Oogie's childish henchmen.

"Hey, Jack. I don't think you'll find me as forgiving as Lock," Shock taunted. She was standing in front of a wall where Lock and Barrel stood. Lock had his plunger slung over his shoulders, groaning at Shock's mention of his failure.

"I let you win before!" he shouted.

Barrel rolled his eyes and punched Lock, shouting, "Quiet you!"

Shock rolled her eyes as she placed her mask on her face. Uh-oh! I knew where this was going. "Time for some help!"

As she raised her broomstick, ghosts began rising from the ground. The moaned and began lunging for Jack. I couldn't do anything to help him. I tried looking for a way in when I spotted Lock, Shock, and Barrel laughing at Jack's expense. There had to be a way to reach them. I ran along the wall and looked for any way in. I searched until I was on the opposite side. There I saw the trio. Luckily their focus was on Jack, so the boys never saw me coming. I crept up behind them and grabbed Barrel, making sure my hand covered his mouth. He panicked and tried to wriggle free but I held on. Looking around I spotted a garbage can. I smiled and causally walked over and deposited Barrel inside. There was a large rock next to the can, so I placed in on top of the lid, preventing Barrel from escaping.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I turned to see Lock glaring at me. He growled and charged. I unsheathed my katanas and readied to defend myself. Lock began attacking, but this time I decided not to hold back. I blocked his every swing before go into the offense. With one swing I sliced his precious plunger in half. Seeing he was without a weapon, Lock dropped the other half and gave me an innocent smile.

"Ha, ha. I was just playing. I'll be good, promise."

"Oh no! That only works on Jack." I took a step forward and grabbed him by the tail of his costume as he tried to run. "You've been a bad boy, Lock. Time for a time-out!"

I lifted him up and placed him into the same trashcan as Barrel. Inside I could hear the boys bickering about whose fault this was. I took my katana and beat the handle against the side of the can, earning a few moans.

"Be quiet! There's no talking during a time-out. Now, you boys can come out when you've learned your lesson… Or until I feel like letting you out, whichever comes first." I slung my katana over my shoulder and headed back to the Witch Shop. I crawled over the opening where I grabbed Barrel and saw Jack was alone.

"Hey!" I waved and got his attention.

"Will, where were you?" Jack asked.

"Just…taking out the trash." He shook his head and headed into the Witch Shop. I jumped off the wall and followed after him. We walked in and saw Helgamine at the counter.

"What's the matter, Jack?" Helgamine asked.

"I'd like to buy a bone biscuit."

"A bone biscuit? I'm sorry, but Corpse Kid just came in here a moment ago and bought the last one."

"What!?"

"You sure there aren't any in the back?" I asked.

Helgamine shook her head. "I'm sorry. With Oogie taking over the town, our shop is low on supplies."

"Well, I guess we better find Ethan," Jack sighed. He began walking away and I followed after him until something caught my eye. It was a black and gray bag, and looked like it was made from leather and fur. There was a flap over opening with a button closure, three outside pockets with button closures, and adjustable straps. But what made it truly unique were the set of batwings on the back.

Helgamine had apparently noticed I was staring, and asked, "Oh, you like it? It's a new satchel we were trying out. That bag you brought during your last stay here inspired Zelda. Those are real wings on the back."

"Helgamine, can I borrow this?" I asked. "We need something better to carry our stuff in. With the Holiday Doors being shrunk down, I'm afraid they'll fall out if we keep carrying them in our pockets. Plus, we already lost our bottle of healing water."

"Oh dear, that is a problem. I hope you haven't lost that shrinking potion either, Jack. Zelda and I cannot make anymore."

Jack turned and pulled the vial from his jacket. It was still intact, though how had the other vial broken and not this one? Seeing the predicament, Helgamine agreed to let us take the bag, but I noticed Jack slipped her a few souls when he thought I wasn't looking. Seriously, where is he keeping this stuff? He took the bag and handed it to me along with the shrinking potion and the Halloween Door. I placed them into the small pockets on the front and then slipped the bag over my shoulders. It instantly formed to my body, making it comfortable and lightweight. Once on, we set out to find Corpse Kid.

We didn't have to look far. Once we left the shop, Jack spotted Ethan over by the fountain. Luckily he hadn't eaten the biscuit yet.

"Ethan!"

He looked up and waved once he spotted us. "Jack, Will. Did you find Sally?"

"We did, but now we need to get into the Doctor's lab, but Igor won't let us pass," I explained. "We'll need your bone biscuit to get into the lab."

"What? You want my bone biscuit? No way! This is mine!" Ethan exclaimed, clutching tightly to his treat.

Jack leaned down to Ethan's level, and calmly spoke to him, though I could hear the frustration in his voice. "My fine boy, we need that biscuit to save the Doctor from Oogie Boogie's clutches."

"Oh…but this biscuit's mine! Still, I guess you need it more than I do…" I could see Ethan struggling with the decision. He wanted to obey his Pumpkin King, but he was a child and giving up your favorite treat wasn't exactly easy. I had an idea.

"Ethan, why don't we play a game? If I win, I get the biscuit but if you win, you get to keep it. Sound fair? You can pick the game."

"Hmm… Okay but what game should we play." I watched as he thought over the possible games, but I had a pretty good idea what he would say. "I know! If you can pass my quiz, the biscuit is yours. It's about Halloween Town, so it should be easy for you, Pumpkin King, so you can't help."

Yes! Just as I thought. I

"Will, are you sure about this?" Jack asked.

"Please, Jack. This will be easy." I turned back to Ethan. "Hey, just to make it more fun, if I can't answer every question right, you take half the biscuit."

"Will!"

"Deal." Ethan and I shook hands and then the game was one. "Alright. Question 1: What is the name of the town in which Jack lives?"

"Halloween Town. Too easy."

"Question 2: What day is Halloween?"

"October 31st. Come on, Ethan, make it a challenge for me."

"Question 3: What is Jack's last name?"

"Skellington."

"Question 4: How many fingers does Jack have on one hand? And no looking!"

"Again, too easy. Four."

"Question 5: What color is Sally's hair?"

I smiled and thought Jack was itching to answer. I'm glad I took this quiz. Jack would probably spend twenty minutes describing Sally's hair. "Red."

"Question 6: What shape is Jack's doorbell?"

"A spider."

"Hmm, okay those were all easy but now I'm gonna give you harder questions." Ethan looked determined, but so was I. "Question 7: The water in the Halloween Town Fountain is what color?"

"Green." I noticed he was about to protest, so I stopped him. "And no I didn't peek behind you."

Ethan turned and I could see he had forgotten we were standing right in front of the fountain. "Okay, that was bad, but I can think of harder questions. Question 8: What is the most basic element of Halloween?"

I smiled. "Thrills and Chills."

"Question 9: How many Hanging Men are on the Hanging Tree?" he smiled, but Ethan didn't know that we had to collect the Hanging Men earlier, so I had gotten a good count.

"Five total."

Now Ethan was smiling. "I know you won't get this next one! It's my last question, and only someone from Halloween Town would know it. Question 10: How many bolts does Dr. Finklestein have on his head?"

"Eight." Both Jack and Ethan looked at me stunned. I hadn't even hesitated in my answer.

"That's right!" Ethan exclaimed. "Wow! You got all the answers right! Great job! Well, a deal's a deal. Here's my biscuit." He handed me the biscuit. I thanked him and then started running back to the Doctor's manor. Jack quickly caught up, but he was still looking at me funny.

"What?"

"How could you possibly know how many bolts the Doctor has?" he asked.

I smiled. "That's my little secret, Jack, and I don't plan on sharing."

We ran back and found Igor waiting in the same spot where we'd left him. I didn't see Sally or Al, but I figured Al was probably busing herself looking for more Crystal Skulls. Well, that, and probably trying to get Sally to spill about her little secret. I ran over and handed him the biscuit. Luckily I pulled back fast, or I'd have lost a few fingers. Igor gobbled down the biscuit as if had hadn't eaten in weeks. "Ohh… Biscuit tastes good!"

"Now then, Igor. You promised to move aside," Jack reminded sternly.

"Igor keeps his promise." He moved aside and allowed us to pass. Jack and I walked about five steps before a low buzzing sound caught my attention. I looked up to the Doctor's manor just as a bolt of lightening shot down from the rooftop. Jack quickly dodged before it could hit him. Luckily, I was behind him so the bolt didn't hit either of us.

"What was that!?" Jack exclaimed. He looked at me and I shook my head. Then we turned and saw Igor trembling in fear. "Hmmm… Where is that thing getting its power from?"

"Doctor have big generator behind the door over there," Igor explained, gesturing with his head the direction of the generator. "Jack smash circuit with something to make lightening stop."

"I bet that won't stop it for long… I'd better get back quick or I'm fried."

"Don't you mean _we're_ fried," I corrected.

"Oh no! I am not letting you get involved in this."

I ran in front of him down the corridor Igor pointed put. "Too bad," I called over my shoulder. I kept going until I almost ran over the edge. Below I spotted the generator, but it was surrounded by a maze of electric fences and junk piles. I heard Jack behind me and figured he was wondering how we were going to get to the generator.

"Any ideas?" I asked.

Jack looked around and spotted a large rock. "Maybe I can use this rock… If I grab this rock and take it through the maze, I can smash this junk and shut down the machine."

"Okay, good plan, but how are you going to carry that thing all the way there?" I looked down and noticed there were also a few of those gargoyles that shoot spike balls. I winced as I remembered the blow to my shoulder.

"Hmm…" Jack considered his options, but by the sound of his sigh he didn't like his answer. "I can take care of the obstacles, but I'll need you to hold the rock for me."

"That or you could just go and use that rock sitting next to the generator." I pointed to the rock.

Jack saw it and smacked his palm against his forehead. Then he turned to me with a stern look. "Stay here!" Jack ran down to the front of the maze and began to walk through. As he went, I noticed he really only had the electric fences to worry about. From where I stood I could see how often the electricity went on and off. I called out to Jack each time this happened, making it easier for him to avoid being shocked. Finally he made it to the end. At first he tried to lift the large stone with his hands, but being without any muscles made it challenging.

I shook my head. "Jack, use the Soul Robber to lift it!" I shouted.

He nodded and did as I said. Lifting it high over his skull, Jack swung the rock around a few times before launching it into the generator. The blow smashed its circuits and the power died down. I cheered but Jack wasn't as happy. He ran quickly back through the path. He used an elevator to reach me and grabbed my wrist, urging me back to the door.

"Hey, where's the fire?"

"We need to move, fast!" Jack explained. "When I smashed the generator, a timer went off for a backup power supply. We have one minute and thirty seconds to get into the lab before the power comes on again."

We ran back to the door, but Jack's sudden stop caused me to crash into him. I looked around and saw an ambush of killer vampire teddies and Gumpies. Jack pushed me back and turned to his Pumpkin King form. He then rushed out and began blasting the creatures, clearing a path. I barely had time to grab my katanas as I rushed after him. Aside from the flying demon toys, the path was littered with lunging bear traps. I had to practically dance on my toes to avoid loosing a chuck of my legs. This continued all the way to the manor. Jack kept blasting the creatures with his Pumpkin Fire, and I managed to strike a few with my swords. Finally we managed to reach the top. Jack pushed me to the front, and I hurried to open the door. Behind me I could tell Jack had stepped out a ways to use his full blast attack, making sure I was far enough away to avoid the flames.

I got the door open and urged him back inside. He returned to his regular form and rushed inside. We quickly shut the door before any of those monsters could get in. I was just catching my breath when Jack nudged my shoulder. Looking up, I was stunned to see Sally and Al waiting there for us. I felt my jaw drop and I looked to Jack. He was just as stunned as I was. Without another word, we ran over to them.

"What the– How did you guys get in here?" I demanded.

"Sally threw her leg through a window and we climbed up. Super cool!" Al responded calmly.

"Seriously?"

"Yup. It was fun. I felt like a ninja," Al replied, smiling.

"Sally, are you alright?" Jack asked. He rushed to her side and took her hands on his own.

"Yes Jack, we're both fine," Sally said with a smile.

"Seriously, how did you guys get past all the traps? Jack and I have to maneuver through lightening bolts, smash a giant generator surrounded by electric fences, fight a hundred nightmarish dollies, mace-throwing gargoyles and biting bear traps, and you two just climb in through the window!?" Needless to say, I was ticked off.

"Like I said, ninja!" Al said, smirking. "Or sheer dumb luck…or both."

I wanted to say something, but a small irritatingly familiar voice stopped me.

"Jaaaack! I was wondering when you'd get here!" We all turned to look above us. Standing at the top of ramp was Shock. She sneered at us. "Think you can reach me? Try it. It's fun. I know I'm having a ball!"

She used her broom to trigger a new trap. Above her a large pipe rattled until a large metal ball came out, and it was coming right at us! It was about the size of a boulder, and I could see flames through the open vents. Shock laughed and placed her witch mask over her face. "I don't want to crush your spirit, Jack… Just your body!"

Seeing the large ball coming down the ramp Indiana Jones-style, I suddenly couldn't help myself. "Duh, duh, duh, duh! Duh, duh, duh! Duh, duh, duh, duh–"

"NO!" Al shouted.

"… Killjoy…" I muttered.

"Nice idea but there has been enough singing thank you very much," Al said apologetically.

"Point taken, so, any ideas how to get past the Flaming Balls of Death?"

"Hmm…" Jack looked around the ramp. "It looks like there are a few doorways. If we duck into those passages each time a ball comes, we should be safe. But we have to time this right."

"Great…more timing of dodging things," Al muttered.

"Come on." We all started up the ramp. We ducked into the first doorway just as the ball came down the ramp. Once it was gone we were on the move again. We barely made it to the next door as a second ball came our way. We were about to try again, when another ball came our way. We barely got away.

Above, we could hear Shock laugh. "Too slow, and down you'll go!"

Al growled. "This is why I'm considering not having children," she muttered.

"You three stay here," Jack insisted. "I can dodge the balls long enough to reach the top, and shut off the device."

"Jack, no! You'll be crushed!" Sally protested.

"Uh, Sally, I actually think he'll be fine," I said. "This is where be an impossible thin and tall skeleton works for him. I've noticed the balls don't get too close to the walls, so Jack should be able to press up against the walls and avoid being crushed. And if not, his longer strides will help him get to the doorways faster."

"This is true," Al agreed.

Sally was not as convinced. Jack caressed her cheek before running out onto the ramp. We watched as he ran up and ducked in each doorway he could when another ball came rolling down. As he paused in one of the doorways, he looked puzzled. He leaned out and called down to us.

"This is your old room, Sally. But, why is it nailed shut?"

Oh you have got to be kidding me? "Can we worry about that later?" I shouted at him. "Flaming Ball of Death coming your way!"

"Hurry up ya Boney Butt!" Al yelled.

Ignoring Al's comment, Jack waited for the ball to pass before continuing. He only had to do it once more before reaching the top. As the last ball dropped, Jack ran at it. Sally gasped, thinking Jack was going to be crushed. But instead, Jack jumped and used the Soul Robber to grab to pipe. He swung over the ball and landed safely on the other side. He then reached up and shut off the machine.

"All right, you can come up now," he called down to us.

I nodded and led Al and Sally up the ramp. Before meeting Jack at the top, I stopped outside the last doorway Sally had already past us and ran to Jack's arms. While they played Kissy Face, I turned to Al and lowered my voice. "Hey Al, if I remember the game correctly, there should be a Crystal Skull in that room."

She grinned and ducked in, brandishing her machete as she snatched the Crystal Skull before darting back out. "Got it!" she said triumphantly.

"Sweet!" I turned so she could put the skull in my backpack. Once she placed it inside, we headed up the rest of the ramp. When we got to the top, we spotted Jack standing with hands on his hips, a very cross look on his face. Sally stood by his side, her arms folded over her chest. Meanwhile Shock was waving a white flag on her broom.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I was only playing a trick…" she said. It was like listening to metal claws scraping a chalkboard.

Jack looked both stern and annoyed. "Stop helping Oogie. I mean it!"

"Okay…" she said sweetly, but Al and I could see she had her fingers crossed.

"Liar!" Al coughed.

Shock turned and stuck her tongue out at Al before scurrying away. Al returned the immature gesture.

"Al, you're supposed to be the mature one, you're eighteen," I scolded her. "Besides, you're supposed to do this." I turned to look over spot Shock and blew her a raspberry.

Al laughed. "We'll never grow up. Never I say!"

**XXX **

**GodlyJewel: **For anyone who was confused by what Will was singing, it was the _Indiana Jones_ theme.

**CosmicHorse:** I love Indiana Jones theme but enough singing!

**GodlyJewel:** You put your name together?

**CosmicHorse:** Yup, a while ago actually. It just felt right.

**GodlyJewel:** Alright then. On to the next chapter! ... Which involves another song!

**CosmicHorse:** Dear God no! … Urg! Fine, let's go.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Operation**

(Jack's POV)

I watched as the girls laughed. It was surprising they could find something to laugh about after all the danger we have faced. However, we were far from being done. I still had no idea what Oogie's plans were, and I needed to find Dr. Finklestein to get my answers.

"Jack?" I turned to Sally. The worry in her voice reached her eyes, and I was concerned.

I took her hands in mine. "Sally, what's the matter?"

"I know you need to talk with Dr. Finklestein, but I'm worried about Jewel. I think she's here somewhere in the manor, but…"

"I understand. You go and find her. I'll take care of the Doctor." I kissed her forehead before turning to Will and Al. "Girls, I need you to look after Sally." As much as I wanted to stay, I needed to confront Dr. Finklestein. But that didn't mean I was going to leave Sally without some kind of protection.

"You sure, Jack?" Will asked.

"Yes. I must confront the Doctor alone."

"Nu-uh Boney Butt," Al argued. "Will can stay with Sally and keep her safe. I'm coming with you. No arguments."

"You sure about that?" Will looked concerned, but then I noticed she paused before a subtle smirk appeared on her face. "You know what, what I'm I taking about? You love to smash stuff. Going after Finkie will be way more entertaining for you."

"Ally want to SMASH!" She clutched her sledgehammer and her smile even started to creep me out.

"Well, alright then. Sally, Will, please be careful." They nodded and then headed back down the ramp. Then I turned to Al. "You ready to go?"

"Born ready my favorite skeleton!" Al said, grasping her sledgehammer tighter. "Lets go have a smashing good time!" If I had eyeballs I'd have rolled them, but apparently Al understood my annoyance. "Okay, my bad, I'll stop with the puns."

I nodded then turned to the elevator. I stepped inside and waited for Al to follow before heading up to the lab. The ride was short but we reached the top without any problem. Before I stepped out, I spotted the Doctor. He was sitting in front of the window with his back to us. I took a few steps toward him.

"Dr. Finklestein! Why are you doing this?" I pleaded.

"Ah, Jack. I see you managed to make it here…" He turned around to face me. "You've been busy, Jack. I think its time for you to rest." He reached up and opened his head to scratch his brain. But what I saw caused me to gasp. Inside the Doctor's head was a green brain with two large, dead white eyes.

"Oogie switched your brain!"

"Ew. Bad brain!" Al said.

Dr. Finklestein closed his head and glared at me. "Shall we begin? I think you'll like this device. I made it especially for you." He threw a switch and activated his machine. There was a loud rumbling sound, and an electric buzzing. I looked up and saw the Doctor's newest machine come to life. Four claws dropped down, each with three large rotating blades. Lasers cannons surrounded the top and there was a large lightening rod dangling from the center.

"You ready to dance Jack?" Al said, prepping her sledgehammer.

I nodded. Al was right, but there had to be a way to get Dr. Finklestein back to his old self. I looked around, trying to find anything that we could use to help him. Then my eyes fell on a cart that, to our luck, had the Doctor's brain sitting on it. I had to switch the Doctor's real brain back to save him, but I needed a plan.

"Let's see…" muttering mostly to myself. If I open his head from behind, then get in front of him and throw his real brain in…"Yes! That should work!"

"Okay, whatever you're planning Jack, I'll distract and you get this done. Good?" Al asked.

"Yes. I believe this will work. But I think I should be the one to distract him." I stepped closer to Al and lowered my voice so the Doctor wouldn't hear me. "Dr. Finklestein is more likely to go after me, so what I need you to do is be ready when I give the signal." I pointed her over to where I had spotted the brain. "Once I get his head open, be ready to toss his brain in. Got it?"

"Hot potato with a brain?" Al asked, grimacing slightly. "First time for everything I guess…"

She readied to rush for the brain, while I stepped forward to face Dr. Finklestein. I felt the Soul Robber pulse against my wrist. No doubt it could sense its creator, but I needed it now to defeat the Doctor's machine. I looked around for any openings. Suddenly I heard Al groan.

"Oh good. There going to be MORE singing isn't there!? I can already hear the music!" she said.

Before I could question her, the machine attacked.

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__This town has changed, my boy  
__Since you've been away  
__Without a Pumpkin King  
__It's Oogie Boogie's way!_

_JACK  
__Doctor, please!  
__Oh, can't you see you're wrong?_

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__You were the king  
__But now you're nothing but prey!  
__Oogie Boogie is back  
__And he's planning to stay!_

_JACK  
__It' a crazy web you're weaving!  
__ Oogie Boogie will soon be leaving!  
__Doctor, please! It's not too late!_

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__All my machines will seal your fate!_

I ducked and dodged as the blades came down. Luckily I had been right and Dr. Finklestein had kept all his focus on me. While the blades were quite easy to avoid, the lightning blasts and shootings were another thing entirely. Al weaved between the blades but a rogue lightning blast hit her full on. She squealed and stumbled forward, but kept running. I was astounded that she survived and was still mobile. She was at the side of the tray with the brain in an instant but kept twitching randomly.

"You alright, Al?" I called, dodging another blade.

"Electric therapy didn't work then and IT WON'T WORK NOW!" she yelled, shaking her fist at the air.

I nodded, though I was worried about her mental state. Once the Doctor was back to normal, I might have him examine her. And speaking of the good Doctor…

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__My lasers will slice you!  
__ My knives will cut deep!  
__And when it's all over  
__Sally, she will weep!  
_

_The days of your good natured  
__Mayhem are through!  
__I'll tear up this town!  
__And I'm starting with you!_

I finally got to the back of the machine. Dr. Finklestein had his focus on Al for the moment, allowing me the chance to go for his head. I whipped out the Soul Robber and latched it onto the back of his head and pulled. I struggled to get the top of his head open. I was so busy trying to open it, I never noticed the Doctor hit a button on his chair. The button triggered one of the lasers and blasted me. The force knocked me into the wall but luckily it also helped me opened Dr. Finklestein's head.

The lasers kept shooting at random, and one of them was headed straight toward Al. She threw up her machete to act like a shield, and it took to the full blast of the laser. She slide back a few feet but kept standing. Her blade was glowing a red with a black center. Her eyes widened in awe at her new blade and a wide, creepy smile crawled onto her face.

"I am a Sith Lord!" she shouted before laughing manically. She saw that the blades had stilled and her smile got wider. Leaping like a flea, Al launched off the floor, onto the still blades then onto the main trusses of the machine. She kept giggling like an insane person as she hacked through the lasers, her blade not loosing its sinister glow.

"It's a light saber!" she kept shouting over and over again.

Both the Doctor and I were distracted by the girl's strange behavior, but I quickly recovered and got to my feet. I spotted the brain on the tray and decided to take the open opportunity. I grabbed the brain with the Soul Robber and flung it at the Doctor's head. However, my aim was off and it flew right past his face.

"Nobody move! Jack dropped the brain!" Al shouted down, laughing loudly and even more insanely if that is at all possible. I think I even saw her go cross-eyed for a moment.

"Al, get the brain!" I said, moving as the blades began to spin again. Dr. Finklestein only laughed at us.

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__Well, now, my boy  
__It seems you've lost your crown!  
__ In a few moments  
__You'll be six feet in the ground!_

_JACK  
__Stop at once!  
__Can't you see this is absurd?_

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__No more tricks!  
__Your friends are now your foes!  
__And now this dance is  
__Nearing its close_

_JACK  
__All these people that you're hurting  
__Oh, good doctor, it's disconcerting_

_Doctor, please!  
__ Your thinking is all wrong!_

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__ In a moment finally you'll be gone!_

This was not going well. If I didn't get Dr. Finklestein's brain back in his head soon, Al and I could be in serious trouble. I had to try again. I waited for the lasers to retreat before making my way back around the machine.

_JACK  
__Your intentions are evil! Your thoughts are all bad__!  
The thing that you work for  
__Is no more than a cad!  
__When I finally get that  
__ Foul brain out of you  
__You'll see no more foe  
__But a friend that is true!_

Dr. Finklestein had a closer eye on me now. When the claws retreated, he redirected the lasers to fire on me. I quickly ducked behind the tray as another round of lasers fired at me. I turned to see Al sitting beside me.

"The singing...is getting...old...guys..." she panted, her smile slipping into a hard glare.

I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but I had to agree, this needed to stop. I looked around and saw that Dr. Finklestein's head was still wide open. That gave me an idea.

"Al, if I can keep the Doctor distracted, do you think you might be able to sneak over and throw his brain into his head?" I asked her.

"With pleasure, Señor Sombrero," she said, snickering at that before darting towards the brain, snatching it up and cradling it in one arm. Seeing she had the brain, I waited before running back into the fray, dodging bullets and lasers, making sure Dr. Finklestein kept his focus on me.

_DR. FINKLESTEIN  
__ My blades are now spinning!  
__ My creations are large!  
__When they move towards you  
__ There's no question who's in charge!_

_If by some chance  
__You survive the attack  
__There'll be many more  
__You'd better watch your back!_

_JACK  
__ You shoot and attack me  
It rolls off my back!  
__I'm not your enemy  
__ I'm the Pumpkin King, Jack!_

_When this is all over  
__Good friends we will be!  
__ You'll praise Oogie no more!  
__You can take that from me!_

Suddenly, I was caught up in one of the metal claws. Dr. Finklestein laughed as one of the guns lowered in front of me. I glared back at him, struggling to free myself. I could see the Doctor was about to say something, but then I noticed Al behind him. She had a severe look about her that made me a little uncomfortable.

"That's enough out of you!" Al said darkly before leaping onto the Doctor's chair, shoving the brain into the empty cavity and shouting, "Shut your brain!" and slamming the top shut, causing sparks to fly since she was still charged. The Doctor groaned in pain.

I felt bad for him, but with his old brain back in his head, I knew he should be back to his old self. With the Doctor no longer at the controls, I was released as the machine returned into the ceiling.

"Oh no! I ain't done with you yet!" Al shouted. She grabbed onto one of the claws and began to smash away at the machine. I just stared after her, not sure whether to get her down or not. Some of the effects of the lightening must have done something to her. She was wild and out of control. I thought about getting Will, but then decided against it. Instead I turned my attention back to Dr. Finklestein. Perhaps he might have a solution.

When his head was finally cleared, Dr. Finklestein wheeled over to my side. His head was bowed in shame. "I'm sorry, Jack. I never imagined my brain would be replaced and the town deceived…" he apologized.

"Don't blame yourself, Doctor. You were under Oogie's control. If anyone is to blame, it should be me. If I hadn't left, Halloween Town wouldn't be in this mess."

"Well, can't argue with you on that." I turned around and saw Will coming out of the elevator. She walked over to us, her expression slightly amused. "Seriously Jack, you need to stop beating yourself up about it. Main focus now is to stop Oogie."

"Will, where's Sally?" I asked. I didn't see her on the elevator, and I was beginning to worry.

"Relax, she's just fine," Will assured me. "She's with Jewel–"

"Jewel!? My Jewel?" Dr. Finklestein exclaimed. "What happened? Where-Where is she!?"

"Easy, Doc. She's okay…for the most part. We found her in Sally's old room, but she's a little under the weather. Sally stayed behind to see what she could do for her."

I heard Dr. Finklestein sigh in relief before I heard Al shout, "I got another machete!"

I looked up and spotted Al laughing maniacally from her perch on the machine. One of the blades from the claws was in her hands. She placed it on her belt loop, then jumped down and began to swing from another one of the metal claws.

"Oh no…" Will groaned. I turned to see she was rubbing her temples. She looked to me and asked, "By any chance did Al get hit? And before you go sugarcoating anything, Sally and I already heard a fight going on up here, specifically gunfire, so don't go saying nothing happened."

"Well, yes..." I answered. "There were lasers and Al was hit by a bolt of electricity, but how…?" I looked back up to see Al still swinging from the metal claws.

"Lets just say those therapists **never** should have tried electroshock therapy," Will groaned.

"Hey look! A secret door!" Al yelled down to Will. She crawled to a hidden compartment above the Doctor's machine. She opened the door and made a sour face. "No skull? Lame!" She reached inside and tossed whatever was inside down to the floor. We all quickly moved as something came plummeting towards us. The item landed right in front of me. I stepped closer to see what it was. It was a large wooden door in the shape and color of a four-leaf clover.

"Doctor! The St. Patrick's Day Door…"

"Indeed that is a Holiday Door. Hmmm?" He pondered over the appearance of the Holiday Door. I had to admit, I was beginning to wonder what Oogie's purpose was in removing the doors. Suddenly Dr. Finklestein gasped. "Jack! What's today's date?"

I scratched my skull. I hadn't kept track of the dates recently, but then I remembered seeing a calendar inside Will and Al's apartment. "Why today is… December 24th. Oh no… It's almost Christmas!"

"Really, you didn't know? Sheesh, didn't you see all the streets, stores and houses were decorated on the way to our apartment?" Will added.

Suddenly, I heard Al start to sing:

_Leroy The Redneck Reindeer  
__Hooked to the front of the sleigh  
__Delivering toys to all the good ol' boys  
__And girls along the way_

I stared after her, not quite sure what song she was singing. Then I looked back to Will. "Uh, I thought Al didn't like to sing."

"She doesn't, but she in one of her moods. Just give me a sec." She walked over to stand under the claw where Al was. She was currently hanging upside-down, humming the tune to that odd song. I watched as Will took off her pack and raised it up to Al.

"Ally, get yourself down here," Will shouted. "If you come down, and I might give you a cookie."

"Weeeee!" Al quickly jumped down and landed on her feet. She ran to Will and began to bounce up and down uncontrollably. "Where my cookie?!"

Instead of answering here, I saw Will reach to the back of Al's neck and pinched a spot just under her left ear. Al suddenly went still and her eyes seemed to focus. She shook her head and began looking around.

"Did we win? Wait!" She looked to Will sternly, her fists clenched at her side. "You promised cookie."

"Sorry." Will shrugged and smiled, returning the pack to her shoulders. "You went Freakazoid again. I had no choice. You said last time Kat or I had to promise you a cookie and do the nerve pinch because you didn't like how the doctors snapped you out of it."

"Oh… Sorry."

"No problem. Anyway, back to the Holiday Doors," Will continued. "What exactly is Oogie planning to do with all these, Doc?" All three of us looked to Dr. Finklestein.

"I'm not exactly sure," Dr. Finklestein answered. "I don't remember much of what Oogie told me while I was under his control, but what I can remember is he needed to find the other Holiday doors."

"We found two already," Al said. I nudged her shoulder and pointed to the St. Patrick's Day Door. "Three. We found three doors."

"Hmm… I wonder what's happening with the Christmas Door… I believe Oogie specifically wanted that door, but for what purpose I cannot remember. Let's hope we can find it soon!" Dr. Finklestein opened his cranium and racked his brain for ideas.

"Hey, just thought of something," Will said. "If we have three of the doors, and the others are scattered somewhere all over town, what the heck is separating Halloween Town from the other holidays?"

"Oh dear, you're right. Without the doors, anything could come through. We'd better check to make sure nothing else has disturbed the other holidays. Sandy still hasn't quite forgiven me for my little Christmas takeover."

"Little Christmas takeover?" Al asked sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "You kidnapped him and put him in a bag! I almost went to jail for doing that, twice!"

"Do we really need to bring that up again?" Will groaned. I wasn't sure to whom she was speaking, so I turned our focus back to the problem at hand.

"Doctor, we need to go back to the Pumpkin Patch. But it won't be easy, because Oogie's monsters have possessed the pumpkins at the entrance, blocking anyone from entering."

"Hmmm… I know! We'll scare those monsters out of the pumpkins! Gi-Give me just a moment…" He was very excited, and practically jumping out of his chair as he disappeared into his private laboratory.

"Hey, I wanna see!" Al said, running after him. I was about to follow when Will stopped me.

"Say Jack," Will said. "Doc might be awhile if he's working on a new project. Why don't you go check on Sally."

"Good idea." I went to the elevator and rode down to the next floor. I saw that the boards that once blocked off the room had been bashed in, and the door had been left opened. I walked inside and spotted Sally sitting in a chair next to the bed. Lying in the bed was Dr. Finklestein's most recent creation, Jewel. She wasn't moving and Sally was watching over her. I walked over to her side and placed my hand on her shoulder. She was startled at first, but smiled when she saw me.

"Is the doctor himself again?" she asked.

"Yes! He's making a device to help us defeat Oogie's army."

She smiled and stood to wrap her arms around me. I eagerly returned the gesture. I had to make a note to myself that if I ever had to leave again (something I plan never again unless absolutely necessary), I needed to take Sally with me. She pulled back and looked at me with a sincerest apology.

"Thanks for rescuing the Doctor, Jack. He's difficult sometimes, but he was the one who gave me life."

"Don't worry, Sally. I know it wasn't his fault." I looked over her shoulder at Jewel. Her stillness was beginning to unsettle me. "Sally, is Jewel alright?"

She was quiet and turned to look upon her friend. "I don't know. She hasn't moved and I can't seem to wake her. Jack, I think Oogie's done something to her."

"Now, now, don't fret, my Sally," I assured her. "I'm sure the Doctor can fix her up, and she'll be good as new."

She smiled and wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist. "You're right. Dr. Finklestein will know just what to do. Oh, that reminds me. You said he was making something to help you stop Oogie and his monsters, right?"

"Yes, but he wouldn't say what."

"Just a minute." She pulled away from me and crouched down to the ground. Puzzled, I watched as she removed a section of the floor and pulled out a red and green present.

"Jack, do you think this might be helpful, too?" She held it out to me.

"What's this?" I carefully opened the box and looked inside. The first thing I noticed was the red material. I walked over and set the box on the sewing table so I could remove the contents. First I pulled out a red piece of cloth. It seemed to be covering something, so I unwrapped it. Inside was a small pin. It was a little orange jack-o-lantern wearing a Sandy Claws hat. I turned to thank her, but then Sally took the pin from my hand and placed it on my jacket.

"Now, tap on the hat," she instructed.

I did as she said and suddenly, I felt a cold wind whipping at my bones. It reminded me of the first time I had fallen into Christmas Town. When I opened my eyes, Sally was smiling. I couldn't understand what she was looking at so I looked down at myself, and was surprised that, not only was my pin gone, but I had changed. My usual pinstriped suit had been replaced with a red suit with white trim. Atop my head was a Sandy Claws hat, and I was even wearing I long white beard. I smiled at her as I realized what it was.

"It's Sandy's costume!"

"Do you really like it?" she asked.

"Oh Sally, this is wonderful!"

She was beaming from my praise. "Oh, I'm so glad you like it. I remembered you told me your other one was damaged last year, so I thought I'd surprise you with a brand new one. I even wrote a letter to Mr. Claws asking him if it would be alright. He said I could, and even sent material. When I explained how you lost your other one, he sent special instructions for making the new suit. The instructions called for a little Christmas magic to make that special pin to keep it safe for you. All you have to do is put it on and tap the hat, and the suit will appear. When you want to return to your regular suit, just tap on your hat and it will return to a pin."

"Sally, you truly are a clever one," I complimented. "Who else but you could think of such a wonderful present?"

"Well, I had help from Mr. Claws," she said modestly. "And besides, I thought it would be a fun surprise."

"Oh Sally…" I grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her into the air, spinning her around. Her squeal of delight made me spin a little faster. I just couldn't contain my joy! I was just so stunned she had done such a thing for me. What a wonderful present, and just in time for Christmas too. What a wonderful Christmas…present…

The realization hit me like a bolt of lightening. It was Christmas Eve and here I was, without a present for my beloved Sally, and she had gone to the trouble to get me one. Oh how completely selfless of her, and how foolish of me! I had been so preoccupied with finding new ideas for Halloween and stopping Oogie Boogie from taking over, that I had completely forgotten the most important date in my life. Not only was it Christmas Eve, but it was also our anniversary!

I stopped spinning and set her back on her feet. I took her small hands in mine and kissed the backs of them.

"Oh Sally, forgive me, my darling. You put so much thought into your gift, and I completely forgot to get you one." I dropped her hands and looked at the ground. "How could I forget, today of all days?! I should have everything prepared to give the best, most romantic Christmas/Anniversary. I don't even have a present for you." I turned my back to her, too ashamed to look at her.

"Jack, please, don't worry." I shook my head. I really didn't deserve her. I left her, caused her to suffer at the hands of Oogie Boogie again, and now I had nothing to give her on what should be a special day for the two of us.

The sound of clacking heels made there way over to me. I felt Sally take my hands in her own. I dared to look at her and my phantom heart nearly broke. She was looking at me, smiling at me, a look of love filling up her whole face. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed my boney cheek. I felt the tears burning in the back of my eye sockets.

She looked up at me and I could see a faint blush creeping over her cheeks. She really did look adorable whenever she blushed. I waited silently as she spoke.

"The nicest present I could ever ask for, Jack, is just to be with you."

I felt my bones blanch at her loving words, and my heart swelled with joy.

"You don't even have to ask for that!" I scooped her into my arms and held her close, till I could feel our heart beating as one. She cuddled closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. I really was the luckiest skeleton in the world to be loved by such a forgiving and hauntingly beautiful woman. I soon closed the distance between us, pouring in all my love as a kissed her soft lips. I felt her respond and deepened the kiss. I was making a promise to her with that kiss: I was going to defeat Oogie Boogie, for good this time. And when the town was back to normal, and everything was at peace again, I was going to spend this Christmas, and every day after, showing my Sally just how much I love and care for her. And this is one promise I intend to never, ever break.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Yes, I threw in a little Kingdom Hearts. Sorry but, I just couldn't help myself.

**CosmicHorse:**

_Leroy The Redneck Reindeer  
__Hooked to the front of the sleigh  
__ Delivering toys to all the good ol' boys  
__And girls along the way  
__ He's just a down home party animal  
__Two Steppin' all across the sky  
__He makes jingle bells with the rebel yell  
__And made history that night_

"Leroy The Redneck Reindeer" by Joe Diffie. My favorite part is the chorus, obviously.

**GodlyJewel:** Hope you liked how I brought in Sally. It's weird how she just appears in the game. Seriously, where'd the hell she come from? Also, changed the gift slightly so it could work more into the game, kind of like I did with the Pumpkin King mode. Hope no one minds.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: New Toys**

(Will's POV)

Once Jack was gone, I followed Al into Dr. Finkelstein's private lab. He was bent over the table tinkering with something. Al, however, was hovering over his shoulder, shifting back and forth like a curious cat, and meowing like one too. _Three, two, one…_

"Do you mind!? I'm trying to work here!" Dr. Finklestein shouted at her.

Al backed away, head bowed, staring at him with big, pouty eyes. "Merow?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Come on, Ally. Let the nice doctor work on his new invention."

"Unhappy kitty…" Al pouted. "I'm gonna go pout." She walked over to the window and began toying with the metal claw she'd acquired.

"So Doc," I asked, peering over to see what he was working on. "What exactly is this thing you're working on?"

"Oh, this is quite something," Finkelstein replied. "This will really scare those monsters out of the pumpkins, and anything else they might be hiding in."

"So, why do we need to go through the Pumpkin Patch?" Al asked.

"I was wondering that too. I mean, Jack said we need to check on the Holiday Doors, and I know those are in the Hinterlands, so can't we go past Spiral Hill?"

"Well, yes, but there's a faster way across the bridge in the Pumpkin Patch," Dr. Finklestein explained. "But if Oogie has figured that out, the area may be heavily guarded."

"Good thing I got a replacement for Chopper," Al said, tossing her new weapon into the air.

"But that isn't coated with the ghost potion the witches put on our other weapons," I reminded her. That resulted in an immediate Al facepalm.

"Well, at least our other weapons are still good." I drew out my katanas and swirled them around. "If any ghosts come at you, I'll just use these on 'em."

"And I'll use Sledgie Baby. Oh! And Macho got himself an upgrade!" Al sang, drawing the still glowing machete. "He's a lightsaber now!"

I smiled. Only Al could find a way to get herself a machete-lightsaber. As I went to sheath my katanas, I noticed that the blades were beginning to dull, and even chip in some areas. It must have been due to all the skeletons we'd been fighting. If we were going to be of any more help, I needed to find something to sharpen up my blades. I looked around before turning back to Dr. Finklestein.

"Hey Doc, got anything I can sharpened these with?" I asked, holding out my katanas.

With a frustrated sigh, Finklestein turned his chair around and wheeled over to look at my swords. He took one from me to give it a thorough examination. He turned it over, running a gloved finger over the blade. He shook his head.

"No, no! These will never do," he exclaimed. "It's a miracle you managed to make it this far without getting killed. One more attack and this antique won't serve you any good. You better give these over to me." Before I could answer, he took my other katana and wheeled back to his worktable. He then pressed a button and spoke into a mic. "Igor! Get over here, and bring me the scrap pile in the back!"

When he went back to work, Finklestein set aside his previous project and began fiddling with my katanas. "Allison, you'd better let me have a look at your weapons," he said over his shoulder. "If they're in any shape like this, yours will need work as well."

"Like hell!" Al protested. "I lost Chopper, I'm not losing my other babies!"

I rolled my eyes. "Al, unless you want to end up like Chopper, just give the man your hammer and machete."

"No!"

I felt the vein in my head throb, so instead of arguing, I walked over and took the machete and the claw from her belt. She reached for them, but I threw the claw to the side. As she chased after it, I plucked the sledgehammer off her back. She turned to protest, but I quickly made my way to the doctor and set the weapons down on the table.

"Thank you. Now, get out!"

"No problem." I grabbed Al's arms and dragged her out of the room. I figured while Dr. Finklestein worked, Al and I could figure out what to do next. With how everything was occurring, we needed a better strategy for our next move. I had a sense of déjà vu from when I wanted to stop Jack from taking over Christmas. All that got me was a broken toy chainsaw and getting captured by Oogie Boogie. Still, I couldn't let Jack and the others know that they were just movie characters. That was one headache I didn't want to deal with. For now, I just needed to figure out a way to help without revealing I'd seen this all in a video game.

As we left, we saw Igor coming in with his box of biscuits in one hand, and dragging a wagon with the other. The wagon was filled with all kinds of things: bones, scrap metal, and some electrical wiring. He smiled as he walked past us, but paused and took the metal claw from Al's hands. He tossed it on the pile before disappearing into Finklestein's lab. When the doors shut and we heard the click of the lock, Al went into a rage.

"The hell Will?! Those were my babies! And you took them from me!"

"Sorry but I think we have bigger issues than your lack of inanimate children," I scolded. "Al, this whole thing, it's exactly like the video game."

Her eyes got wide. "Oh wow…you're right… But I'm still grumpy at you for this…and where the hell is my cookie!?"

"Forget the cookie, there is no cookie. Here, check my bag for yourself." I handed her the bag, which she quickly started rummaging through, muttering under her breath. I quickly made a dive as she tossed out the potion vials and the miniaturized Holiday Doors. I managed to catch the potions, but the doors scattered across the floor.

"Ally!"

"I am so grumpy with you right now!" she hissed at me, walking away from the bag in disgust. I rolled my eyes and picked up the doors. Placing everything back into the bag, I then took out the shrinking potion. Fumbling for the doors reminded me I still had to collect the St. Patrick's Door. After shrinking the door, and placing it and the potion in the appropriate pockets, I turned to Al and sighed.

"Look, when we get home I'll… I'll make you a batch of double chocolate chip M&M cookies, okay?"

"You better…" Al muttered, still pouting slightly but a little more appeased by the promise of her favorite cookie.

"I will, but no more trying to rip my new bag apart," I warned with a smile. She flashed me a cheeky grin but left the bag alone. "Okay, so can we talk about our next plan?"

"Yea. Let's get everything figured out before we run headlong into something stupid," Al said, surprising me. She was usually the one charging forward wildly.

"Don't start without us." We turned to see Jack and Sally entering the lab. His arm was wrapped around Sally's shoulders, but I noticed Jack had changed and was now wearing a Santa Claus outfit. Now I definitely felt like we had stepped into the game.

"Nice duds Bone Daddy," Al said, winking and giving him two thumbs up.

"Oh, thank you," Jack said, slightly blanching. "Sally made it for me."

I couldn't resist teasing a little. "So, another suit, huh? Gee Sally, wherever did you find the time to take Jack's measurements?"

I chuckled at her blush and she quickly answered, "Oh! I, well I, I had my notes from the last suit I made him. Though this one is a little different." She laughed nervously and I smiled at our little inside joke.

"So, has the Doctor finished with that scaring device yet?" Jack asked, changing topics.

"Nope, he actually hijacked our weapons and went to tinker with them," I said.

"He hijacked? More like you did…" Al muttered.

"Let it go, Al. I'm already indebted one cookie batch. I'm not going any higher." She glared playfully at me but smiled all the same.

Just then the doors to Dr. Finklestein's lab opened up. He wheeled himself out while Igor brought out the wagon, now covered with new inventions. Dr. Finklestein took one look at Jack and smiled.

"Ho, ho! That outfit really suits you! I completed the scare device." He gestured to Igor who brought Jack a large burlap bag. Taking the bag, Jack reached inside and pulled out a box that looked like the jack-on-the-box Clown made during the "Making Christmas" song. Before Jack could speak, Dr. Finklestein said, "If I told you what's in it though, that would ruin the surprise! Hide this in your Sandy bag, and use it to stun Oogie's Monsters!"

I laughed until I noticed the hard look on Al's face, silently demanding the return of her weapons. I put my hand on her shoulder and waited for the Doctor to present us with our modified weapons.

"Now for you Will, I made some improvements." He handed me my swords. The blades looked much sharper now and were slightly larger than before. I tested one out and jumped back. The mad scientist had given my katanas segmented retractable blades that curved out across a great distance. They wrapped around a metal pillar and broke it in two. I pulled back and the blade returned to normal.

"Nice blades Willy Girly," Al commented.

"Indeed, but that's not all. I added iron and a little rock salt into the blades to make them harder. Not only will they less likely to dull and chip on bone, but the salt will also burn the ghosts like acid. And now for you, Allison." Dr. Finklestein turned and Igor handed him a long pole. "I noticed the blade that struck you still held an electrical charge, so I combined it with your hammer and added some upgrades."

"You put Sledgie Baby and Macho… TOGETHER?!" Al asked rather frantically.

"Oh, I think you'll find this device to be exciting," Dr. Finklestein assured her, handing her the new weapon. I was impressed by what I saw. The Mad Doctor had transformed Al's sledgehammer and machete into what looked like some type of voulge styled Lochaber axe. The blade from the machete had been removed and attached to one end of the sledgehammer, continuing to glow red and black as it pulsated with electricity. The hammerhead had been equipped with a butt spike to act as a counterweight to the blade.

Al gapped at the weapon before taking it in her hands. She fingered the staff and stopped when she came to a small red button. Pressing down on it, a large bolt of electricity burst from the blade end and struck the far wall. When the smoke cleared, leaving a very large black scorch mark on the wall. "Is it still part lightsaber?" she asked quietly.

Ignoring her question, Dr. Finklestein said, "I knew it would be an improvement, but I do have one more thing. Just something I've been tinkering with since last Christmas. Igor!"

"Yes, Master." Igor reached into the wagon for the last item. As he pulled it out, I was surprised at what I saw. Though the paint had changed from a dingy yellow to a series of reds, oranges, and yellows to look like flames. The mechanical saw's blade was now jet-black, and the teeth set on a chain around the edge of the blade seemed a lot sharper.

I couldn't believe my eyes. "That's my toy chainsaw! I thought Lock, Shock, and Barrel smashed it to pieces."

"Oh, you're right," I heard Sally say. "I remember. Will, didn't you use that thing to chase those three last Christmas so I could sneak into Oogie's lair to rescue Mr. Claws?"

"Yeah, it was supposed to be a birthday present for Al."

"Present?!" Al stopped playing with her new toy and ran over to inspect the newly modified chainsaw. Her eyes went wide, and a small tear was in her eye. "You got me a chainsaw?"

"Yep, I got you a real life Bertha," I said proudly, then sighed. "Well, I wanted to give it to you, but those brats trashed it. Doc, how did you…"

"Quite easily," Dr. Finklestein explained. "When I sent Igor out to find me new materials, he brought back this thing. A little reverse engineering and I was able reconstruct it. Luckily I had it hidden away before my brain was replaced. I couldn't imagine what awful things Oogie would have done had he gotten his hands on this device."

"That would have been really bad?" Al asked, reaching for the chainsaw.

"Ah, ah." Dr. Finklestein pulled back the chainsaw from Al's eager fingers. "First I should warn you that this is no longer a toy, but quite a powerful device. For one thing, you might have noticed the blade is much more durable and the teeth are sharper."

"Yea. She looks pretty rough and ready to go," Al said, wiggling her fingers in anticipation.

"Ah, but that's not the best part," Finklestein continued.

"Ooo! Tell me more!" she said

"Dr. Finklestein, what exactly did you do to it?" Sally asked.

"Well my dear, I believe a demonstration is better suited to answer that. But I suggest you stand back for this."

Nodding her head, Sally took a few steps back, Jack standing in front of her. With that in mind, I eagerly joined them. Anything with Al plus chainsaw could only equal trouble. I watched from the safe zone as Dr. Finklestein handed Al the chainsaw. He told her to turn it on when he gave the signal. Then he wheeled his chair back before telling her to start it. Al pulled the crank cord and the engine roared to life…but that wasn't all. As soon as Al activated it, the blade burst into flames, erupting into a fiery inferno. I worried that the fire would consume her, but the flames never touched her skin. Jack, Sally, and I were impressed to say the least, but Al was absolutely thrilled with her new toy.

"It's on fire!" she shrieked happily, bouncing a little bit.

"I think she likes it," I muttered, earning a nod from the couple next to me. "So… Can we go try out our new toys now? I worry Al might do some remodeling if we don't leave soon."

"This sucka could cut through anything!" Al shrieked in excitement. She slashed it through the air before stilling and flicking the chainsaw off. The fire died down but it still looked vicious, even asleep.

"Hmm, yes, please get this girl out of my lab before she destroys it," Finklestein sneered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have important matters to attend to. Igor!"

"Coming Master." Scientist and lab assistant left, leaving the rest of us alone.

Jack decided then to take control. "Alright, we need to get to the Pumpkin Patch. Will, are you and Al ready to go?"

"Yea, just let me go calm down Ms. Chainsaw Massacre over there." I pointed over to wear Al continued to slash the air with her chainsaw. "You two might wanna get your stuff ready."

"About that." Jack turned to Sally and took her hands in his own. "Sally, I would feel better if you stayed here."

"But Jack–" Sally protested.

"Sally, I mean it. Its too dangerous for you, and…"

"Uh, excuse me?" I interrupted. Apparently Jack and Sally had forgotten I was standing right between them. Then again, not so much. They are taller then me, so I was an easy miss. I looked up and smiling, thinking this couldn't be any more awkward.

"Not that this isn't fun, but uh… I'm gonna let you two handle this," I said, slowly backing away. I quickly stepped over to Al. She was still playing with her new chainsaw when I put my hand on her shoulder. "Look out, lover's quarrel at three o'clock."

She instantly stopped cuddling with her chainsaw and started to watch with fascination. Luckily, Jack and Sally had their focus back on themselves.

"Now that the Doctor is himself again, I know you'll be safe if you stay here," Jack insisted.

"Jack, I…"

"Sally, please understand," he pleaded. "If anything were to happen to you, I couldn't live with myself. I need to know you will be safe. And knowing you're here, safe and waiting for me; I promise you, I will do all I can to stop Oogie before he does any more harm, and come back to you."

"Awe!" We didn't realize we had said that out loud until Jack and Sally looked at Al and I. I noticed the blush creep over both of them, and Jack made a gesture that said, 'Can we have a little privacy?' Now I felt a blush on my face.

"Well… We'll just…go wait outside," I said, pulling on Al's arm. "Come on."

"But, but, but!" Al protested but I kept a firm grip. I went to the elevator and pulled Al in, hitting the down button.

"I wanna watch!" Al whined.

"Who says we won't?" I smirked and hit the button again. The elevator came to a halt far enough down that we could still hear the conversation. "Now we can still listen without being caught."

"Good plan," Al said, listening intently. We quieted down and tried to catch the last of the conversation.

"I wish I could go with you," Sally said sadly.

"Sally, please try to understand," Jack beseeched.

"But I do understand. You have to stop Oogie… I would just be in the way."

"No, never!" There was a pause. My guess would be Jack had taken Sally in his arms, but I couldn't tell. If only I'd remembered to pack my phone, then we could have seen what was happening. Then I remembered Al never went anywhere without hers, though it was a long shot she would have grabbed it for this adventure.

"Hey," I whispered. "Got your phone?"

"Yea, he's right here," Al replied, pulling out her phone.

I took the phone and set it to the camera function. Carefully I lifted it up to where we could see Jack and Sally. I had been right and Jack had drawn Sally into his embrace. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, and her back was flush against his chest. Her hands came up to rest over his as she leaned back to lay her head against his shoulder. Jack's skull was nestled against her right shoulder. His eyes were close and he just held her, looking like he never wanted to let her go.

"This is better than my shows," Al whispered.

"I know, now shh!" I shushed her, and Jack began to speak again.

"Sally, you are my dearest friend, and I love you so much. I can't afford to lose you, my love. Please, promise me you'll stay here." He leaned over and kissed the stitching along her right cheek. "Promise me?"

"Jack, I–"

_Dibidi ba didi  
__Dou dou  
__Dibidi ba didi dou dou  
__Didi didldildidldidl  
__Houdihoudi dey dou_

All of us jumped at the sound of Al's phone going off. Al and I ducked to the floor of the elevator, hoping we hadn't been spotted. In the process, I stumbled with the phone, and the stupid thing locked itself.

"Make it shut up!" Al said, hastily.

"I'm trying," I yelled back. I kept trying for the answer button, but Al's phone was being ridiculous again.

_Dibidi ba didi  
__Dou dou  
__Dibidi ba didi dou dou_

"Turn it off!" Al hissed.

_Didi didldildidldidl  
__Houdihoudi dey dou  
__YEHAAAW!_

Finally I was able to hit the answer button, harshly whispering, "WHAT!?"

_Well, hello to you too…_ It was Kat. I forgot she said she call to tell us about her trip.

"No offense Kat, but you have really bad timing," I groaned, looking up for any sign we'd been caught.

_Well, excuse me for calling… _Kat replied._ What are you doing anyway?_

"Spying on some friends cuddling," Al replied.

_Uummmm…_

The sound of footsteps caused Al and I to freeze. The steps stared to get closer. Panicking, I hit the button to get the elevator moving. It started to move, but it was slower than I wanted. Al panicked and began hitting the button frequently, but it still went at a slow pace.

"So… H-How are you? Everything good in Mexico?" I asked, desperate to change the subject. I doubt I could keep the panic out of my voice, but apparently Kat didn't notice.

_Oh, ya know…sitting here, in the sun, by the pool, in Mexico…having a drink, getting my tan on… Internet here is soo expensive._

If only she knew what we had to deal with.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, good." The footsteps were getting louder, and the elevator was taking its sweet time. Finally it came to the bottom and Al and I rushed out. "Look can we call ya back. This is a really bad time right now."

_Sure..as long as its before beer:30_, she laughed.

"For sure. You're no fun to talk to when you're drunk," Al joked.

"Yeah, what she said. Great, so later and Feliz Navidad," I said, trying to hide my panic.

_Great.. Now that song is stuck in me head…adios!_

"Bye." I hung up and let out the breath I'd been holding. Suddenly, the elevator began to move, heading back up to the lab. I looked at Al. She was panting and looked at me, then at the ramp. I got the idea. Run!

We ran down the ramp and into the kitchen. We paused there and tried to catch our breath. "That…was close…" I said.

"I'd say. That was almost closer than looking for Christmas presents in my parents house," Al said, breathing hard as well.

"You should learn to have more ghostlike stealth is you want to avoid being caught."

"Aaaah!" Al and I screamed. We looked behind us to see Jack standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a rather annoyed expression on his face, reminding me of the mistletoe incident.

"So…" I said awkwardly. "I take it Sally is staying here?"

"Yes," Jack replied. "She's going to help Dr. Finklestein repair Jewel. Apparently Oogie removed and corrupted her brain in order to control him. He thinks he can salvage it, but there's a good chance he may need to start over."

"Well, that kinda sucks…" Al said, actually feeling sorry for the Doctor and Jewel. "So, where are we off to now?"

"The Pumpkin Patch of course," Jack said, though by the look on his face, he was clearly annoyed at catching us spying on him and Sally.

"Well, then what are we standing around here for?" I started backing towards the door. "Christmas is only a few hours away, and we got a rampaging Bug Sack to stop. Lets go, people."

Before Jack could respond, Al and I bolted out the door. With the barrage of Oogie's maniacal to monsters, it was a quick trip from the lab to the Town Square. It seemed clear of any threats, but Jack took the lead and rounded the corner leading to the Pumpkin Patch. I felt my pulse quicken as I remembered my previous encounter with those ghouls. It had been nearly impossible for me to fight them without the special potion Helgamine put on our weapons. I just hoped our modified weapons would work.

The moment we stepped foot into the Pumpkin Patch, the ghouls attacked. They popped out from the pumpkins, clawing and screeching at us. Jack tried to fight them off with the Soul Robber, but the darn things swarmed like angry bees. Al and I couldn't even grab at our weapons.

"Run for it!" I yelled. We covered our heads and ran past them. Every time we ran past a pumpkin, another ghost would pop out. One popped through the ground and sent Al flying on her back.

"Al!" Jack ran back and helped her to her feet. "You alright?"

Al groaned. "Yeah, I'm fine. After being tossed by Cessario into a wall, nothing really hurts anymore."

"Hey Jack, now would be a good time to play Santa, don't ya think?" I asked, ducking as a ghost swooped over my head.

"Right, Dr. Finklestein's scare device." Jack tapped a pin on his jacket and suddenly turned into his Sandy Claws persona.

"Do you really need to be in that outfit to use the presents?" Al asked.

Ignoring her, Jack reached for his bag and drew out a present. He tossed it at the ghost. It landed in front of them and once it touched the ground, it acted like a jack-in-the-box toy; a frightening clown popped out, scaring the ghosts surrounding it. Jack quickly changed back and used the Soul Robber to dispatch them. As more ghosts appeared, Al and I decided to try out our new toys.

Al went first. She gripped the handle of her halberd before charging at the stunned ghosts. The blade sliced through the ghosts like butter, making them disappear. "Whoa baby!" she sang, going crazy on the ghosts.

"Way to go!" I cheered. "My turn."

I whipped out my blades and waited for the ghosts to spot me. Three of them came charging and I readied myself. Once they were close enough, I slashed at the one on my right. The blade slithered out and wrapped around the ghost. It shrieked in pain as the embedded rock salt began to burn it. I smiled and then pulled back to slam the ghost into his buddies, dispatching all three of them.

"Girls, get down!" Jack shouted. We hit the dirt as Jack began to do his spin attack, using one of the ghosts like a mace to fend of an ambush of ghosts. He got all but two, which had sunk into the ground to avoid an attack.

"Try another present!" I yelled.

Jack nodded and switched to his Sandy suit again. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a blue present with white polka dots and orange ribbon.

The ghosts popped up from the ground, one on each side of us. Jack threw the present toward the ghost on the left. When the present touched the ground, two snow-covered pumpkins sprang out and there was a flash of white. When I opened my eyes, the ghost had been encased in a block of solid ice.

Seeing the other ghost was trapped, the second one charged at Jack. But Al was quicker. Dropping her halberd, she grabbed her chainsaw and sliced through the ghost. It screamed before bursting into flames. Finally we were all able to catch our breath.

"This chainsaw kicks ass!" Al yelled happily, revving the engine before flicking it off. She picked up her halberd and replaced it in its holder on her back.

"The bridge is just over this hill," Jack said. He started to walk over, but stopped. "What has happened?!"

"What's wrong, Jack?" I asked.

"Look at that!" He pointed to the field. I walked to his side and saw the mess. All the pumpkins were scatted, and some were either smashed, rotten or about to rot, and there were vines strung all over the place.

"I've got to get to the bottom of this!" Jack jumped off the hill and took off.

"Jack! What about– Oh, forget it." I sighed and turned to Al. "Come on, we better go after him."

"Serious A.D.O.S. problems," Al commented, jumping off the hill.

"You're telling me." I jumped down after her and we raced to find Jack. When we spotted him, he wasn't alone. There was a large zombie-like figure wearing blue overalls and yellow gloves, and there was an axe sticking out of his head. It was Behemoth, the guy who scared the cottontail of the Easter Bunny.

Al and I ran over just as Jack walked up to him. "Behemoth! The Pumpkin Patch is a mess!"

"It's the bad'uns," Behemoth said. "They ruin it… Break the bridge."

We looked around him, and saw the bridge. The center of the cobblestone had been completely smashed in. There was no way to cross it, not even on the Soul Robber. Looking down, the current of the river was too fast, so crossing through that was not an option.

"I wonder if we could jump it…" Al said, taking a few steps back, getting ready to jump.

"No you don't!" I said, pulling back on her arm.

"The Big Pumpkin Head," Behemoth continued. "Bad'uns eat it too. My precious pumpkins…"

We looked over at the other side of the bridge and saw an enormous pumpkin, perhaps the size of a three-storey house. The giant thing looked frightening with its carved sinister smile, but it also looked like it was wilting.

"We need to stop Oogie's monsters from completely destroying it," Jack said.

"Well, unless we can cross this river, we are tough out of luck… Hey, I got an idea!" Al said, thinking fast. "Is there anything equine-like in this town?"

"No, nothing like that," Jack answered. "There's no choice. We'll have to go the long way to reach the Big Pumpkin Head."

"Joy, more walking," Al said, frowning.

"Come on, it won't be so bad," I answered. Al gave me a skeptical look, so I explained, "Oogie might have hidden a door in there. Besides, pumpkins are an essential part of Halloween. We can't let them be destroyed."

"Okay, lets go."

"Come on!" Jack called. We took off down the path. Jack seemed to have an idea of where we were going, but it took us up and over a few hills. As we kept running, we heard a familiar feline screech.

"Oh no, not again!" I groaned.

_Hello? Testing… Testing… 1, 2, 3. Am I on?_ Big surprise, it was Oogie Boogie's voice on the microphone again. _A-Ahem! Denizens of Oogie Town! Jack has returned! According to the reports…heh heh…he's enjoying our dangerous Oogie Town so much he's screaming in horror! Rejoice! This is all thanks to your efforts! Ba ha ha ha!_

"More like screaming for you to **shut up!**" Al raged, revving her chainsaw.

_Barrel, my star pupil, my prodigal son, my shining star. Be a good boy and finish the work your half-witted, half-pint, half-alive playmates could not. Because if you don't there's more than half a chance I'll be very, very, very ANGRY!_

When the announcement was over we came to the top of a hill. Below us the river's current was faster, but this time there was a stone outcrop in the center.

Jack grabbed Al and I and once we were holding tight to him, he used the Soul Robber to swing us over to the other side. Once our feet touched the ground, we quickly parted as a gargoyle shot maces at us. While Jack tried to destroy it, a Troll Skeleton appeared. It roared and lumbered toward us. Al revved her chainsaw and charged at the creature. I was about to assist her, when a ghost jumped out in front of me. I jumped back and slashed at the poltergeist with my swords, not needing the snake-blades with such a close range attack. While I took out the ghost, Jack had snuck over and helped Al beat the Troll Skeleton. Once it was gone, more ghosts began to appear.

We decided not to bother with them, so we kept on running. We ran until Jack stopped us at another river crossing. More ghosts surrounded it, but they were easily dispatched. Jack was about ready to help us cross, when another Troll Skeleton appeared. This time I used my segmented blades and wrapped them around the Troll's legs. It fell backwards, dropping its club as it hit the ground with a large thud. Jack grabbed the club with the Soul Robber and used it to bash the Troll Skeleton right back into the ground. However, another one spawned and began to beat back.

"I got this sucker," Al said, taking her halberd in on hand and her active chainsaw in the other. Throwing her head back and laughing insanely, she charged towards the Troll. Rather surprised by her reckless charge, the Troll paused before meeting her attack. Fainting left, Al used her halberd as a pole and vaulted onto the Troll's back before beheading him with her chainsaw.

As his corpse dropped to the ground, another Troll Skeleton appeared, along with three more ghosts.

"What the chiz?! When I put them down, they need to stay down!" Al said, getting extremely annoyed.

"No kidding," I said as a ghost tried to swipe at me. I managed to beat it, just as Jack knocked the second Troll to the ground. As it tried to get up to retrieve its club, Jack whipped the Soul Robber at it until the Troll Skeleton shattered to pieces. Then he picked up the club again, and swung it at the ghosts. He got a few, and Al managed to get the rest with her chainsaw. Once they were gone, Jack had us grab onto him again and, swung the three of out to the outcrop. We let go and ran a few feet, before Al and I grabbed Jack again, swung over the river to the other bank. Once on solid ground, we paused to rest.

"Well, we made it," Jack said. "The Big Pumpkin Head is just through those thickets." He pointed to the path we had to take.

"Again, horses would be nice," Al said, sitting down and rubbing her sore legs.

"Come on, you know you're having fun," I laughed. "So, ready to go?"

"Fine." Al stood and picked up her chainsaw.

"Well then, come along girls." Without waiting Jack took off down the path, ducking under low hanging branches.

"Seriously? How can Boney Butt not be tired after all this?" Al asked.

"I blame extremely long legs, but we better move if we want to catch up." Al nodded, and we took off after Jack. Good thing about being shorter: not having to duck ever five minutes.

As we neared closer, Al got a strange look on her face. "What's up?" I asked

"Do you smell lollipops?"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** In case anyone was wondering, A.D.O.S. stands for, "Attention Deficit Oh! Shiny!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: ****Chopper's Revenge**

(Al's POV)

Will gave me a confused look. "Lollipops? Why would you smell lollipops?"

"I don't know," I replied, sniffing the air again. "I just smell lollipops."

"Hey Jack, hold up a minute!" Will yelled, running after the tall skeleton. He paused and waited for us to catch up. "I think we might be heading into another trap."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Al said she smelled lollipops," Will explained.

"That's strange," Jack said. "Why would–" There was a rustling sound. "Get behind me."

We did as he said, Will and I readying our weapons. Jack took a few steps forward, only to see Lock, Shock, and Barrel jump out of nowhere, landing on an outstretched root.

"Oh no, not you three," Will groaned, lowering her swords.

"Hey Jack, want some candy?" Barrel asked, shaking his lollipop at him.

Jack frowned and placed one hand on his hip. "No thanks I've had enough of your treats."

The trio jumped down. Lock stepped forward, feigning hurt, said, "Aw, Jack, we're just getting started."

"Our biggest trick is yet to come," Shock snickered.

As they spoke, the branches started to move. Will and I took a step back, while Jack kept his eyes trained on the kids. Barrel smiled. "You're gonna get so lost. And, after what we did to The Mayor's house… Oops! Wasn't supposed to tell you that. Catch you later, Jack!" He ran off into the maze after his buddies.

Jack tried to go after them, but a large root blocked his path. "Darn, they got away."

"Not if I can help it." I said and started to climb over the large root. Once I was about halfway up, the root rose higher, and another snaked out and smacked me to the ground. I hit the ground hard on my back, knocking the air out of me.

"Al, you okay?" Will asked, trying to help me stand.

"Yea, I'll live," I said, rubbing my backside. "I've been bucked off worse than a rogue tree branch. Though, I'm not game to try that climb again. Is there any way to avoid the maze?"

"Looks like we have no choice," Jack said. "We'll have to run the maze."

"Hmm… I'll look around for a clear path." Will got to her feet and took off down the path.

"I'd rather avoid getting lost." I said, getting to my feet. "This looks like a job for …" I whipped out my new chainsaw and turned it on. The engine roared to life the blade and teeth ignited into bright red flames. "BERTHA! The all-powerful chainsaw of doom!"

I approached the roots and sliced through the thick wood. The flames didn't spread, but they left black scorch marks as I cut the large root in two. "I feel like a wood carver."

Will looked at Jack, her brow cocked. "Well… That's one way to do it."

I laughed and took off down the path, Jack and Will following after me. Each time we came to another tree root, I would easily cut through and make us a path. At one block, three Troll Skeletons and a couple of ghosts ambushed us. Jack managed to take out one of them by throwing a pumpkin at its head, then attacking it with the Soul Robber. As Will and I fought the other two, another Troll appeared. Will managed to wrap her blades around the Troll Skeleton she faced, and crashed him into hillside, taking out two ghosts as well. I had my hands full however. I hacked at the Troll's legs until he crumpled to the ground, only to be swarmed by three ghosts.

"Get off me!" I yelled, trading my chainsaw for my ghost-repelling halberd. "Jack, follow me! Yo Will, cover us!"

Slicing through another ghost, Will replied, "Just give me a second!"

Jack and I nodded and took off down the path. I cut through the tree to make a path, waiting for Jack and Will before following. Jack took the lead and led them up a large hill. Suddenly, Jack was thrown back. Will and I ran to the side as something was propelled toward them. Looking up, they saw a new trap. It was a guillotine. On it laid a skeleton that used the blade to launch its head at anyone that came near. Once one head was cut off, another appeared in its place.

"He has really lost his head. Ha, bad joke… I'm sorry…" I laughed before falling silent again.

Will rolled her eyes and looked over to Jack. "Jack, you okay?"

"Yes. Stay close to the wall." Jack ran ahead, dodging the heads, and used the Soul Robber to destroy the device. He waved, signaling it was safe for us to continue. We ran up the hill and continued down the path. There was only one more block in our way. We could see the Big Pumpkin Head just on the other side of a bridge. I cut through the root and we crossed to the other side, only to be ambushed by three Troll Skeletons.

"I am so getting tired of you guys popping up all over the place!"

"Al, duck!" Will pushed me out of the way as two of the Trolls swung their clubs. We rolled to the ground. As the dust cleared, we looked up to see the Trolls coming in for a second swing. One raised its club but stopped midair. It turned and spotted Jack, holding the club back with the Soul Robber.

"Will, Al! Get out of the way!" he yelled.

"We better move!" I yelled, grabbing Will's arm, hauling her out of the way.

Once in the clear, Jack pulled back on hard and caused the Troll to fall back and shatter to pieces. He turned and started to attack the other one. Looking over at Will, she smirked and charged at the Troll, slashing its legs with her blades. Not one to be left out, I revved my chainsaw and followed her, hacking off another head.

"Off with your head!" I said, laughing like the Queen of Hearts.

"Way to go _Alice in Wonderland_," Will shouted. She hacked through another ghost before running towards the bridge. "Al, come on!"

I raced after her. We crossed over the bridge to the Pumpkin Head. We paused and gazed up at the large pumpkin. The natural orange was fading to a nasty shade of brown. Dozens of ghoulish ghosts flew in and out of the large gourd, turning the pumpkin a deeper brown wherever they toughed it.

"Heartless wisps," I muttered, gripping my halberd.

Jack gasped. "They're attacking from within. We'll need to go inside if we want to stop Oogie's monsters." He looked around for an opening, but there didn't look to be anyway inside. I watched as his gaze drew to the top. "I'd better climb up and have a look."

"And how are we supposed to get up there?" Will asked.

I pondered a moment. "Jack, use the Soul Robber to harpoon Smash-n-Dash toward the top of the pumpkin and we can climb up," I said, handing him my halberd.

Jack looked at me with a blank stare, and then turned to Will. She shook her head and explained, "Use your Soul Robber to throw her halberd to the top of the pumpkin like a grappling hook. Then Al and I will climb up, and you can swing up after."

"Oh! Why didn't she just say that?" he asked. I smacked my forehead. Did no one understand how to harpoon anything? Before I could respond, Jack took the halberd with the Soul Robber and hooked it to one of the top roots. Making sure it was secure, he signaled for us to start climbing. Will went first. When she was about halfway, I climbed up after her. I had to chant my mantra many times: _Don't look down, don't look down!_ as I scaled up.

Once I got to the top, Will had her hand extended for me to grab onto. I smiled and took her hand, letting her help me up. Soon as my feet were on solid ground, I exhaled the breath I was holding.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Will said, nudging my shoulder. I gave her a hard look, daring her to say it again. She just laughed and leaned over the edge. "Okay, Jack. Your turn."

He nodded and tugged on the Soul Robber. It pulled him right to the top, and he landed on his feet. I waited, stone still, as he pulled my halberd from the pumpkin root and handed it to me. I wouldn't talk until my feet were on solid ground again, not with ANY height.

"Hey, look over there!" Will walked over and crunched down next to a wide hole. "Looks like something gnawed its way through."

I nodded stiffly, still so uncomfortable.

Jack crouched next to her. "Hmm.. Looks like we'll need to drop down. I'd say it's about an eight foot drop."

"S-sam-same i-id-idea?" I stuttered.

"I'll go down first, then you two come after." Without another word, Jack rose and jumped into the small hole.

I froze. Jump down eight feet? No way. No way in hell! Will must have sensed my discomfort, because she looked at me and smiled.

"Don't worry, Ally," she assured me. "Jack went down first, remember? He'll be there to catch us. Besides, it's not that far a drop."

I nodded slowly, gesturing her toward the hold first. I would need a moment to compose myself and there was no need to hold her up. She smiled and sat down on the edge. With a wink, she slipped through with a scream of delight.

I closed my eyes and walked toward the edge of the hole. "A-all c-clear?" I called down, keeping my eyes closed.

"Just jump down, Fraidy Cat," Will called. "Its fun!"

"Yeah, fun my foot…" I muttered, keeping my eyes clenched closed. "Here I come!" I shouted, preparing to fall.

"Ally, just– Crap! Jack, look out!" I began to hear the clashing of metal and bone.

"Hey, what's going on?" I leaned forward to get a better look, but my balance was thrown off and I fell through the hole.

"Bloody hell!"

The fall seemed to go forever, until something caught me. Judging by how hard the arms felt, I guessed it was Jack. "Hey, thanks Ja-" I started to say but as I looked up I saw it wasn't Jack. I had been caught by one of Oogie's zombie skeletons. It glared down at me and hissed, spraying me with ashy spit.

I screamed loudly, scrambling from its arms and falling to the ground. Quickly grabbing my chainsaw, I proceeded to go completely postal on that zombie. It did not stand a chance nor had any time to put up a fight.

"Sheesh, Ally? Ya think you got it?" Will joked from the other side of the room. She was fighting off two skeletons, managing to get herself backed against the rotted wall of the pumpkin. Just when I thought they had her, Will smirked. She flipped her katanas around and impaled them into the wall of the pumpkin. She used them as leverage, and hoisted herself up, kicking her feet out. They made contact with the skeletons' jawbones, knocking their heads clean off.

"You know I **_hate_** zombies. Worst creature ever thought of," I said, shaking my head. As I looked over at her, I noticed patches of Will's hair and shirt looked wet. I was going to ask her what was up when I felt a large drop splash on the back of my head.

"Wet? What is wet?" I looked up to see what had hit me, only for a second liquid projectile to hit me right in the eye. It disgusted me, stuff getting in my eyes. I violently wiped my eye. "Gah! Seriously, what is this stuff?"

"Pumpkin juice," Jack answered as he slashed another skeleton with the Soul Robber. "The pumpkin is beginning to rot. If we don't stop Oogie's monsters soon, this whole thing will collapse on itself."

Now that I looked around, I could see many opaque orange drops falling from the pumpkin, as well as brown and sickly green patches spreading all over the walls. Disgusting! I thought the outside was nasty looking, but this was way worse.

Meanwhile, Jack and Will were fighting off the skeletons before they could eat any more of the pumpkin. I spotted Jack heading for two skeletons devouring one section of the floor. I rushed to help him, but three more jumped in my path. I readied my halberd when I felt something bump against my back. I turned, weapon raised for attack, when I saw Will looking at me with a stern look.

"Al, try not to knock off your teammate, okay?" she joked. Though I noticed the nervousness in her voice as she looked at my blade that was mere inches from her face.

"Oops… Sorry," I apologized. She nodded and then we turned are focus back to the skeletons. I whirled away and we proceeded to fight back to back. I slashed through skeletons with my halberd while Will jabbed them with her katanas. By the time we had them beat, Jack had taken out the two that were devouring the pumpkin.

"Come on. We need to get to the core before Oogie's monsters destroy it." Jack dropped down the hole. Great! More free falling…just what I needed. This time Will grabbed my hand and we fell through to the second floor. Instead of skeletons, we came face-to-face with a hoard of ghosts. We split off and took out about three or four spooks each. My nerves were starting to get frayed, so I had little patience for these ghosts. Unfortunately Jack said we needed to drop down one more floor.

Landing hard, more ghosts attacked us. Quickly dispatching them, a few skeletons spawned right before the next hole. I let Will take these ones and she quickly finished them off. We were getting good at fighting these ghosts and skeletons. With the way to the hole clear, Jack didn't even bother to stop. He ran for the hole and jumped down. Will and I ran after him, but I paused at the hole. Seriously, why so many drops? I looked at Will to jump with me again.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Not really…"

"Okay, on the count of three." She stood at my side and started the count. "One…"

I looked down the hole and gulped. "Two– Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

I fell through the hole and braced for impact, but this time the real Jack caught me. "So glad it's you this time." He smiled and then set me on my feet. After getting over the terror of having been pushed, I turned and glared up at Will. "Heartless wench!"

She smiled impishly before jumping down. Jack caught her as well, and set her down next to me. "Hey, you never would have jumped at three without me pulling you anyway…" She paused and began to listen. "Hey, you hear a crunching sound?"

The now sickening scent of lollipops entered my senses. I gagged lightly. We turned and spotted the source. Not too far off, Barrel was sitting on the ground with two zombie skeletons, chowing down on a couple of pumpkins. Jack frowned and walked over to Barrel. He stopped and glared down at the boy, crossing his arms over his chest.

Barrel looked up, and jumped when he saw Jack. "What!? You made it through my maze!?"

Jack leaned down and gave Barrel a stern look. "Now Barrel, it's time I taught you a lesson."

"You'll have to catch me first." Barrel jumped to his feet and sprinted to the other side of room. Jack made to follow but the little brat summoned a few friends to the party. We were soon surrounded by a whole lot a zombie skeletons.

My eyes widened in fear. "Jack, MOVE!" Will yelled as my mental state snapped again and I revved my chainsaw.

Charging wildly at the zombies, I screamed and cut through them, scattering their bone shards all around me. They staggered back and one grabbed my arm. "OFF!" I screamed, hacking his arm off before jamming the chainsaw through his chest and dragging it up through his skull.

The others rushed me but I ducked down and cut them off at the knees. Standing upright again, the zombie skeletons were just at chainsaw height so I chopped their heads off. Adrenaline fleeting from my system, I slumped and said softly, "I freaking HATE zombies!"

"Al, look out!"

As I turned to see what Will called out about, she slammed into me, knocking us both to the ground. "Bloody hell!" I yelled.

She turned her gaze on me, wincing from the impact. "Well, excuse me from keeping you from being fried."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I looked to see what she had saved me from. Standing among the zombie skeletons was a couple of fire skeletons: my arch nemesis. They hissed and began throwing fiery bone-boomerangs. Narrowing my eyes, I quickly thanked Will before revving my chainsaw.

"These flaming heads are mine to roll!" I said, scurrying up.

"Go get 'em, girl! I'll handle the regulars," Will said, getting to her feet and readying her swords.

"FOR CHOPPER!" I yelled, leaping out and engaging the first skeleton.

It swiped at me with its boomerang, but I parried the move with my chainsaw. The flames intermingled, but Bertha seemed to have fed off my rage because her fire overcame the skeleton's fire. It started to panic but I quickly swiped it through its exposed spin. As I fought, I caught glimpses of Jack and Will as they fought off the other monsters. Jack was trying to reach Barrel, but the skeletons kept coming at him. Meanwhile the little devil was laughing and shooting rocks at us with his slingshot.

At one time, one of those projectiles hit Will right between her eyes. She drew back and clutched her forehead. "Sons of the Pharaohs!" A tiny trickle of blood slid down her nose. She growled and glared at Barrel's smug face. "You brat! You're gonna pay for that!"

"Ha ha! Just try it, Blondie!" He snickered and jumped as Jack launched his Soul Robber at him. "You'll have to be faster than that, Jack!"

"Just like wrangling cats," I muttered, quickly diving for Barrel, catching his foot. "Yee haw, brat."

He struggled but I kept my grip tight on his ankle. Then he paused, and glared at me with a smug grin. "Oh yea? We'll see about that, Old Lady!"

"Al, his slingshot…" Just as Will gave the warning, Barrel pulled out his to and launched a rock, right at my forehead. I lost my grip and dropped him on his head.

"Ouch! Watch what you're doing," he hissed, rubbing his head. He'd dropped his slingshot. Jack walked over and kicked it away. Apparently that meant he'd been defeated because all the zombie/fire skeletons began to disappear.

Jack knelt in front of Barrel, scolding him, "Barrel. Pranks are one thing, but real danger is not a good idea."

"… I'm sorry, Jack," Barrel apologized weakly.

"Now…no more serving Oogie."

"Okay, Jack." As Jack walked away, Barrel waved goodbye, clearly hiding his crossed fingers behind his back.

I facepalmed. "Seriously, dude, you are so gullible," I told him, wincing as my forehead stung from the combined rock and my palm.

"I know what he's doing, but we don't have any more time to waste." Jack continued walking away. "Come on. Now that the Pumpkin Patch will return to normal, we need to see what's happened to the Mayor."

Unbelievable! Boney Butt was actually letting the little brat get away. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked to see Will smiling at me.

"Well, one good thing came out of this. Look what I found." She held up an odd looking piece of metal. The bottom was bent in five ways, and the top half looked like some of the buildings back in town.

"What is it?" I asked, touching the metal.

"When those bone heads hit me, and I fell against the wall… Wouldn't you know, this little key was lodged inside."

"What do you think it goes to?" I asked, touching the metal key.

"Meh, I don't know. I just thought it might come in handy." She pocketed the key and took off after Jack. "Come on, we'd better catch– Ooff!" She tripped over a root sticking out of the floor.

I laughed lightly and offered her a hand. She took it and I helped her to her feet.

"I'm good." She rubbed her head and looked back. "What'd I trip over?" She looked at the root and got a puzzled look on her face. "Hey, can you cut this out?"

"With pleasure." I said, whipping Bertha on and sawing through the wood. Once I had a big enough hole, Will grabbed the root and started to pull. As she brought it to the surface, I saw it wasn't a root, but another Holiday Door.

"Yo, Boney Butt!" I called. "Lookie what we found!"

Jack rounded back and helped Will and I lift the door out of the hole. Dang, these doors were hecka heavy for some hole coverings. Setting it down, I guessed it was the Thanksgiving Door since the thing was shaped like a giant turkey. I chuckled and gobbled for a moment before ceasing under Will's hard eye.

"Well, that was an adventure," I said, knocking on the door.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** This was such a fun chapter. Just a warning: Finals are this week, so the next chapter might be a bit. Right Cosmic?

**CosmicHorse:** Too many tests with too much pressure! *****off studying like a mad woman*****

**GodlyJewel:** Yeah, what she said. Finals this week but then sweet Summer Break! So, hope you enjoy and will have a new chapter once testing is over.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Scavenger Hunt**

(Jack's POV)

I couldn't believe the girls had found another Holiday Door. I watched as Will removed her pack and took out the vial of shrinking potion. Once the door was small, she placed that and the vial back in her pack. Then I noticed she was about to place something else in her bag.

"Will, what is that?" I asked.

Will looked at the item in her hand, and then back at me. "Some key I found lodged in the pumpkin." She handed me the item.

"Why, this is the key to the Residential Area. What's this doing here?"

"Beats the heck outta me." Will placed the key in her pack, and then stood up. "Maybe we should ask the little blabbermouth trying to sneak out?" She pointed over to the mouth of the pumpkin where Barrel was trying to sneak out.

"Get back here you whelp!" Al shouted. She rushed to the exit, but Barrel managed to slip away. Will and I ran to her side, only to see Barrel waving back at us as one of the ghosts carried him off.

"Better luck next time, old lady." He cackled till he was out of sight.

Al scowled. "I ain't an old lady, you good for nothing little bastard!"

"Ally!" Will warned. "Do you kiss Zack with that mouth?"

"What else would I kiss him with? My hand?" Al said sarcastically.

Will just slapped her hand over her forehead. "Why did I even ask?"

Pressed for time, I urged the girls to get moving. "Come on, we better get back to town. The Mayor is still in danger. I don't think I want to know what those little pranksters have done."

"Do we really have to save the Mayor? He's kinda annoying…" Al whined but trudged after us.

It took a while, but we managed to make it back to town without running into too many of Oogie's monsters. We ran through the gates, but I had to stop so the girls could catch their breath. They were both exhausted, and a little battered and bruised from fighting off monsters. I ushered them to the fountain and had them dab the water over their injuries. Once they had a second wind, we ran over to the Residential Area. Not surprisingly the gate was locked. I took the key from Will's pack and unlocked the gate. I slipped the key into my jacket pocket before running inside. I still had no idea what had happened to the Mayor, but I had to wonder what else lay in store for us. Dr. Finklestein and Mr. Hyde said the entire town was booby-trapped. After all the traps we encountered, I worried what might be waiting for us.

"CAN'T STOP! NO BREAKS!"

The scream stopped us in our tracks. "What was that?"

"Sounds like when me and Cesario ran into a rogue yellow leaf." Al laughed a little.

"Do you think its another one of Oogie's traps?" Will asked.

"Only one way to find out." I ran down the path and was surprised to see Helgamine standing along one of the walls. "Helgamine!"

"Jack, oh thank goodness," Helgamine exclaimed. I ran over to her, hoping for an explanation. "I'm glad you're here. I was on my way home to get some more supplies when I heard someone screaming and saw Clown riding around. It seems those Oogie baddies installed some kind of engine in Clown's unicycle! Jack, I wonder if you might have something in your bag of tricks that could slow him down."

"Hmm… Maybe I could try using one of the Doctor's scare devices." I tapped the pin Sally gave me and switched to my Sandy Claws outfit. I grabbed my bag, and listened for Clown's screams to get closer. When he was about ten feet away, I reached into my bad and pulled out a couple of scare devices. Suddenly, I spotted Clown. He was screaming in terror. On his unicycle, I spotted the mechanism that was causing him to ride around uncontrollably. All I had to do now was wait for him to come close enough.

As soon as Clown came close enough, the scare devices activated and brought Clown to a screeching halt. I reached to pull him off the unicycle, but as soon as I reached for his shoulder, the engine revved and Clown took off again. I tried to make another grab for him, but Clown had turned around, and I barely managed to dodge as his unicycle charged at me.

"HELP! CAN'T STOP!"

"Jack, are you okay?" Will asked, holding out her hand to help me up.

"I'm fine, but I don't think I can stop Clown."

"Hmm…" Helgamine pondered our predicament for a moment. "I guess the only way to stop Clown is to remove that engine, and not even my spells can do that. If you had some kind of tool, you might be able to take it out while he's stopped. I wonder where one could find such a tool…"

"A tool…" I racked my skull for ideas. The answer came to me in an instant. "There might be something in Doctor Finklestein's lab we can use."

"Seriously? Do we have to run all the way back to the lab?" Al whined lightly

"He's the only one in town who could have the tool we need," I insisted.

"Jack, Al has a point," Will argued. "Who knows what kind of damage Clown could do if you get sidetracked. There's got to be another way to get that device off."

I thought about it, but shook my head. "No, we should go back to the lab. We already know the scare devices are able to stall the engine on Clown's unicycle. Once we have the right tool, I just have to stall the engine long enough to remove it."

"Okay then, but just to be safe,"—Will looked over her shoulder to see Clown running past us—"someone should make sure Clown doesn't hurt anybody. Or himself, for that matter."

"Creepy clown… I'm going on a walk!" Al said, marching off.

"Looks like Al's going with you, Jack." She looked back at me with a half smile, and then turned to run after Clown. Before I took off after Al, I heard Will call out, "Just hurry back, okay?"

Seeing that their minds were made up, I nodded to Will and went after Al. We raced back to the lab, which was much easier to enter the path now that the monsters and traps were cleared. As we made our way through, I noticed many frogs were scattered all over the path. I halted and spun around when I heard a shriek behind me.

"Al, are you alright?"

She was looking at me with a large smile on her face. "He's so cute!" she said, scooping up a rather large, mint-green frog with pale yellow eyes. "I'm gonna keep him and he shall be called Frank, and he shall be my Frank."

"Ribbit!" The frog seemed to be fine with now being Al's Frank. I turned and continued down the path. Once we reached the front door, I ran in, wasting no time in rushing to the Doctor's lab on the top floor.

"I forgot how long this was…" Al muttered before starting after me.

I ignored her, too focused on getting Clown out of danger. As I reached Sally's old bedroom, I had a quick look inside. Nope. They weren't in there anymore. I continued running until I reached the elevator. I waited for Al to catch up. She trudged up the ramp and walked over to the elevator. As she entered, she slid against the wall and sat on the floor. "I hate up hill running."

"Ribbit!" her frog croaked in agreement. Al's frog, or Frank's cheeks looked a little more bulgy than normal, prompting Al to poke his cheeks. He revealed a crystal skull from his mouth. "You cheeky bugger!" Al said, hugging the frog.

Though I was surprised when I saw the Crystal Skull sitting in the palm of her hand. Odd, even for me. Al tucked the skull into her sash around her waist, while I pressed the button and waited as the elevator took us to the top. When I stepped out, I noticed the lab was back to abnormal. Over on the other side of the lab, I spotted Sally leaning over the operating table. She was preparing everything Doctor Finklestein would need to replace Jewel's brain. She looked..determined… I thought she could never have looked lovelier.

I shook my head. Now was not the time, I needed to help my friend. Looking around, I spotted Igor devouring his biscuits by the bookcase, and Doctor Finklestein was at the table. Beakers, blueprints, and test tubes surrounded the tabletop where the Doctor's nose was buried in a book. On his left sat a jar with the brain inside. I recognized it as the one Oogie had used to control him. It no longer had the dead eyes, but still had a sickly green hue.

I walked over to the Doctor, not wanting to waste anymore time. "Doctor Finklestein."

"Oh, is that you, Jack?" He turned around. The poor man looked exhausted. No telling how long he'd been working.

"Yes, Doctor," I answered. "I hate to disturb you, but we need your help. Oogie's minions have sabotaged Clown's unicycle. We need some sort of tool to remove it."

"You say you need a tool? Help yourself, they're over there." He pointed to a toolbox on the opposite counter. "Say, Igor's been babbling about something. Would you mind listening to what he has to say?"

"I'll talk to him," Al said, and before I knew it, she was heading towards Igor. I thanked the Doctor, then went for the toolbox. There were all kinds of tools in there. How was I supposed to know which one I needed?

"Looking for something, Jack?"

I turned around and smiled when I saw Sally. "Yes, I need to remove a device that was attached to Clown's unicycle."

"Why not use this?" Sally reached into the toolbox and pulled out a bonedriver. "I've heard Doctor Finklestein say it's an all-in-one tool that will fix almost anything."

Remembering the engine had been screwed to Clown's unicycle, I decided to take it. I gave her a smile. "Thanks Sally. This is just what I need. So, how is everything?"

"Not to good, I'm afraid." Sally frowned and looked over toward the Doctor. "He's been working nonstop since you left. He's gone through all his books to find a way to undo the damage Oogie did to her brain. He's exhausted, but try as I may, he won't rest till he cures Jewel."

"Don't worry, Sally." I place my hand on her shoulder. She turned to me and I offered her my encouragement. "If anyone can bring Jewel back, it's the Doctor."

She smiled and squeezed my hand. As much as I wanted to stay, I knew I was needed elsewhere. I grabbed bonedriver, and — after a quick kiss to Sally's cheek — went to get Al.

"Alright Boney Butt, lets go," she suddenly called. I was surprised to see she was already waiting for me in the elevator.

As I joined her, I had to ask, "Well, what did Igor want?"

"Some stupid spider took his biscuits," she explained. "Rather than going after said spider, I just gave him a new one. In return, he gave me this!" She held out a Crystal Skull. Al also had a big smile on her face. She tucked the skull into her sash along with the other one, and then cuddled her frog. I'm surprised that thing hadn't tried to hop away yet.

"Well, that's interesting. I wonder where he found it. And where did you get a Bone Biscuit?"

Al winked. "My little secret," she said with a laugh, cuddling her frog closer. I looked at her skeptically as I hit the elevator button.

As soon as we left the lab, Al and I ran all the way back to the Residential Area. I could still hear Clown screaming, so I urged Al to move faster, which proved difficult because she was trying not to loose the Crystal Skulls, and she still clutched the frog she had found. As we got closer, I saw Helgamine and Will by the wall. Will was lying against the wall with her right leg stretched out, and Helgamine was leaning over her.

"What happened?" I asked once I reached them.

"Will injured herself," Helgamine answered. "She tried to find a way to slow Clown down, but I'm afraid he ran her down. I'm using a spell to relieve the pain, but it's not going so well."

"Jeez Will, that looks gnarly," Al said, kneeling next to her friend.

"You try stopping a clown on a psycho unicycle, and not get injured. While I was trying to keep Clown from running into the walls, I spotted the gate leading to the Mayor's house. Bad news: its locked– Ouch!" Will hissed as Helgamine hit a sore spot.

"Hey, try this!" Al quickly pulled out the Crystal Skull she had gotten from Igor. "Igor gave it to me for a biscuit. Maybe you could do something with it."

"Oh, this will work perfectly, dear," Helgamine said, taking the skull from Al's hands.

"Leave it to you to find another Crystal Skull." Will smirked. "So, you get that tool from the Doc?"

"Yes, now I just need to stop Clown. Al, stay with Will and Helgamine."

I left them at the wall and went to stop Clown. I waited for him to pass me again before setting up my trap. Tapping my pin, I changed in my Sandy suit and pulled three scare devices from my sack. Once they were in position again, I tapped my hat to return to my usual suit. I hid behind a wall close to my trap, waiting for Clown.

"SOMEBODY! HELP ME!"

As soon as I heard that, I grabbed the bonedriver from my jacket pocket. I watched as Clown flew past me and came to my trap. The packages sprung and caused Clown to scream, but it also caused his unicycle to halt. Now was my chance. I sprang from my hiding place and made quick work on the engine. I managed to remove two screws when the engine started to rev again. Working faster, I managed to remove the last one just as Clown took off. This time he was going a normal speed.

"Alright, Jack!" Will cheered.

"Way to go, Boney Butt!" Al added.

I nodded and then turned to the engine in my hand. Concentrating, I used my Pumpkin Fire to destroy it. Satisfied, I turned my attention back to Clown. He was balancing on his unicycle, trying to regain his balance.

"At last… I've finally stopped! Whew! My eyes are spinning!" He looked a little green as he rushed over to a nearby trashcan. He retched into the can, clearly having gotten nauseated from his ordeal.

"Are you all right, Clown?" I asked.

"Yes, thanks to you," he responded when he could speak. "I hope those Vampire Brothers up the street are okay. I saw some of Oogie's monsters headed that way when my cycle went psycho."

"I hope so, too, but that gate is closed and we can't get through."

"No problem. There's a secret lever on the top of my house. I'll open the gate for you, and the Mayor's house is on the other side." He took off down the street, but paused next to the girls. "Oh, sorry about running you over, Will."

"No problem, Clown. Heck, wasn't even your fault," Will assured him. "You warned me. I'm the idiot who stood there like a deer in the headlights." He smiled as she laughed, and then went on his way.

As soon as he was out of sight and earshot, Al shivered. "Clowns… Kinda creepy…even for me…" Frank croaked in agreement.

"So… With Clown opening the gate for us, I guess this mean we're going to the Mayor's house." Will got to her feet, dusting off her pants a little. "Or are we gonna go check on the Vampires instead?"

"I know we need to get to the Mayor, but after what Clown said, I'm worried what might have happened to the Vampire Brothers."

"I do like the vamps over that Harvey Two-Face," Al said, lacing Frank on her head.

"Why do you have a frog on your head?" Will asked. "You better not think about keeping him. The landlord barely lets us keep Mogwai and Crepe."

"Zack would like him!"

"Girls! I don't think this is the time, we need to get going," I insisted. "Helgamine, I think it might be safer if you went back to the shop."

"Alright, Jack," she pointed to the next block, "but my house is just around the corner. I really do need to get some supplies."

"Oh! Could you take this?" Al handed her the Crystal Skulls. Will also has one in her backpack."

"I almost forgot about that." She pulled off her pack, and pulled out the Skull.

Needless to say, Helgamine was impressed. "Congratulations! This means you've found four Skulls. I'll take these back to my shop. If you get the chance, come by and I'll have a Crystal Bottle for you."

"Thank you." We thanked her and watched as walked back to her home. "So, you girls ready to go?"

"Heck ya!" they answered together. They grabbed their things and then we set off towards the Vampire Brothers' house. I just hope nothing happened to them.

**XXX**

**CosmicHorse:** Say hello to Frank!

**GodlyJewel:** She really wanted a pet since there are no horses in Halloween Town. Sorry again for the wait, but Finals are over and Summer Break is here!

**CosmicHorse:** Freedom! And, also, meet Zack! Al's boyfriend!

**GodlyJewel: **Yeah, he'll be making cameo appearances along with Kat. Anyway, please leave reviews, and let us know what you all think.

**CosmicHorse:** We enjoy reading them.

**GodlyJewel:** Yes, yes we do.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Don't Drink the Juice**

(Narrator's POV)

Jack led the girls through the Residential Area. Will remembered how easily she had gotten lost the first time she explored Halloween Town, so she made sure Al and her stuck close to Jack. They reached the gate leading to the Hemlock Homestead when they saw Clown coming up to meet them.

"You can get to the Vampire's or Mayor's houses through this gate," he said excitedly. "I just hope those three little mischief makers haven't gotten to 'em yet."

"No kidding," Will commented.

"Thank you, Clown. We appreciate your help," Jack said. He was about to step through the gate when suddenly the ground began to shake. He jumped back just as a King Skeleton broke through the surface. It roared at them and readied its axe for battle.

Clown screamed, and Jack held out his hand. "Clown, please head back to your home, where it's safe."

"Sure no problem. I've had enough terror for one day, and not the good kind. Good luck you guys." Clown took off faster than anyone could blink.

"Lucky bugger…" Al murmured before saying, "Hold on tight Frank. I don't want to loose you."

"You ready to take this guy down?" Will asked. She had already unsheathed her swords and was ready to jump in. Al nodded and Frank took hold of some of her hair with his feet and mouth, ready to hang on.

"Lets go!" Jack whipped out his Soul Robber and the three of them charged.

Jack raced around to the back of the creature as Will and Al attacked it from the sides. They each took turned slashing at the Skeleton, but this one seemed better suited for combat. It turned and managed to knock Jack with the side of its axe. Jack was thrown on his back as the monster roared in triumph.

"Jack!" Distracted, the King Skeleton took the opportunity to backhand Will into one of the buildings. The wind was knocked out of her and she fell to the ground.

"You bastard!" Al screamed, her postal side coming out in full, vengeful force. She attacked with a bloody intent. Her chainsaw hacked at the armor. The King Skeleton swiped at her, but she blocked the attack by drawing her halberd. Using both weapons, she battled the monster. It was Frank who finally gave her the edge by hopping from her head onto the King Skeleton's face, blocking his view. With the creature distracted, Al moved to finish him off. As she attacked, another King Skeleton appeared, and went straight for Will's barely conscious form.

Seeing her in trouble, Jack picked himself off the ground and dove for her. He managed to grab her just before the second King Skeleton could slice her in half. He moved to prop her behind a couple of crates in an alleyway. She choked as she tried to regulate her breathing. "Will, are you all right?"

"Yeah…" she coughed. "Just… Just give me a minute, okay?"

"Al and I have this, you rest." He reached over and pulled out the Crystal Bottle in her pack. "Here, sip on this."

"Hey Jack! A little HELP!" Al called as the two King Skeleton's advanced on her. "I'm only one crazy person here!"

Jack sprang to her feet and rushed to her side. Al managed to take one out, while Jack slashed at the other one. It used its axe to block the Soul Robber's attacks. Al was about to help by taking out the monster's legs, when a third King Skeleton appeared.

"Oh, for the love of…" Al groaned. "I'm seriously gonna need a nap or some coffee after this."

She charged and managed to take a chunk out of the King Skeleton's tibia. It staggered from the blow to its balance, giving Jack an opening. He used the Soul Robber to knock the creature's axe from his hand. Before it could recover its weapon, Jack picked it up with the Soul Robber and finished it off.

"Woohoo!" Al cheered. "Main Bone Man with the save! … Now, to worry about Will." Jack and her ran to where Jack had set Will when the girl appeared from the alley. "You alright now, Will?"

"I'm thine, Al, thou I don wrecommend dwinking the Sthpring Wata." She cringed. Jack and Al gave her a puzzled look, and Will rolled her eyes. "Serwiouwy, how can thomething that's col and sthlimy bur your tongue? It didn't bur whe we stheplased this stuff on our sthkin!"

Al cocked her head and Jack chuckled, remembering the time he had burned his tongue from a cup of hot chocolate. "Sorry, guess the living aren't meant to drink the Spring Water."

"No kidding." Al snickered, prompting Will to give her a dirty look. "I may drink from a hose used to water horses, but not even I would drink that water."

Will growled but shook her head. "Less go," she said before walking off. Jack followed, taking up the leads again while Al rushed to grab her frog and catch up. They ran along the road until they came to a dead end.

"Oh great, now what?" Al asked.

"There was never a block here before…" Jack looked around until he spotted a few outcroppings. He smiled as he got an idea. "Will, Al. Grab on." The girls looked at him but did as they were told. Once they had a tight grip, Jack whipped the Soul Robber to attach onto one of the outcrops. Then he pulled them to the roof of the building where he grabbed another outcrop and swung them to the ground. Al was slightly panicked, still not quit over her fear of heights, but once they were on the ground she was fine.

"Now, lets go." Jack took off down the road, Will and Al hurrying to catch up.

"So, how will we know which house is the Vampires'?" Al asked.

"I'll give you one guess. Hey! Back to normal," Will cheered. Suddenly they stopped as they approached a large house with a ginormous bat structure on the front.

"Hmm… I'm gonna go with that one," Al said, pointing to the obvious one.

"Come on!" Jack called. "The door's unlocked, but something's wrong." He disappeared inside. The girls followed after him and soon they were inside the Vampire Brother's house. The first thing they encountered was a living room with a large bookcase, a bed, a couch, a dresser, and an old grandfather clock. However, aside from the bookcase, the furniture was actually four large open coffins.

Jack told the girls to stand back while he checked out the coffins. Normally, the Vampire Brothers never left them open, but in case they were sleeping, he wanted Will and Al to keep their distance. Disturbing a sleeping vampire was about as pleasant as poking a rabid werewolf. First, he went to inspect the bed coffin, however, when he looked inside.

"What is it?" Will asked.

"This is the coffin of the eldest Vampire Brother. But it's empty." Jack quickly inspected the surrounding coffins. "They're all empty."

"I wonder where they went… Maybe out for a sucking good time?" Al joked stupidly, making Jack give her a concerned look. "I'm tired, so sue me."

"I don't know, but we'd better search for them," Jack said. "After what happened to Clown, I'm beginning to worry about the rest of the town residents."

They continued to search the room. Will stopped and leaned back against a table with strange lab-like equipment on it. "Well, where the heck do you suppose those guys could be?" she said, setting her hand down behind her, only to pause. Something wet pooled beneath her fingers. She pulled back to find her hand cover in a sticky red substance. "Uh, guys?"

"Blood!" Al yelled, looking up at Will's hand and the bloodstained cups behind her. Frank let out a slightly alarmed croak as Al clutched him tighter.

"It's not blood," Will assured her. She brought her hand closer to her face and gave her palm a sniff. "Actually, it smells like…"—She quickly licked her palm.—"Huh, tomato juice. Not bad actually." She cleaned off her hand before turning and pouring herself a cup. "Dang, this is good."

"What? … Tomato juice!? Now that's interesting!" Jack commented.

"Tomato juice? What's it doing here?" Al asked, no longer flipping out over blood.

Jack turned to Al. "Well, the Vampire Brothers don't normally drink tomato juice. They usually only drink it before Halloween to prevent themselves from going into a feeding frenzy. We want to scare people, not hurt them."

"Well, that makes sense–"

There was a load crash. Jack and Al turned to see what caused it, but to their surprise, they discovered Will was gone. On the floor lay a broken cup, her backpack, her key, and her katanas, yet Will was nowhere in sight. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

"When did Will become Houdini?" Al asked just before realization set. "Will?!"

"I-I don't understand. Where could she have gone?" Jack looked around for any sign of their missing friend. "Will? Will, where are you?"

"Will? …" Al continued to look as well. She searched the coffins while Jack checked upstairs. "Come on! We already have four missing vampires. We don't need to add one missing Will!" Al began to search behind the couch coffin, when suddenly, she screamed.

"Aaaaah!"

Jack rushed back downstairs. "Al, are you alright!?"

"Get it off! Get it off! Get it OFF!" she screamed, trying her best to claw at something that had attached itself to her face. Seeing what it was, Jack sighed and calmly walked over to place his hand on Al's shoulder.

"It's alright, Al," Jack assured her. When she was calm, he gently lifted the creature from her face. "See, it's just a bat. Probably one of the vampires' pets."

Indeed, sitting in Jack's hand was a rather small bat. Its reddish brown wings were folded against its light furred body, and large eyes were staring up at Jack and Al. It had a pink nose and feet, and sharp claws on its wings. The little bat calmed down for a moment before it began to chirp excessively at Jack, flapping its wings frantically.

"Now, now, little one," Jack lightly scolded. "I've no time for games. I must find the Vampire Brothers. Now, off with you." Jack lightly tossed the bat in the air, expecting it to fly away. However, it shrieked loudly and crashed to the floor.

"That's odd. I never met a bat that couldn't fly."

Jack and Al watched as the tiny creature dusted itself off. It chirped harshly at Jack before crawling over to Al.

"Poor baby can't fly," Al said, scooping the bat up and cuddling it. The bat chirped in protest, and nipped at her finger when she tried to scratch it under its chin. Al lightly tapped its nose and said, "No bite." Al was then able to scratch the bat behind its ears, making the little creature chirp and calm down extremely.

"Hey, maybe he knows where the Vampire Brothers are!" Al brought the little bat up to her face. "Do you know anything, little guy?"

The bat just stared at her, an annoyed expression on its face. It rolled its eyes and then turned its furry head to Jack. It looked at him with the same annoyed expression, and pointed its left wing over to the bookcase. Jack followed the bat's directions. He walked over and looked around the bookshelves, but he couldn't' find anything. As he turned back, he walked past a podium. Something lying on top caught his eye.

"Hmm? What's this?" Jack picked up a note. He gasped, and turned to Al. "Al, listen to this. It says, 'Oogie Boogie transformed us into four bats. Find us and return us to our coffins.' It looks like we were too late." As he set the note down Jack's eye sockets suddenly went wide. "Uh-oh!"

"Uh-oh what?" Al asked, tilting her head.

"Umm, Al…" He stared at her with a concerned, though slightly bemused, expression. "I think I know what happened to Will."

"What?"

Jack's only answer was to look down at Al's hands. She followed his gaze to look at the small bat. It stared back at her with big, hopeful eyes. Big hopeful, blue eyes… The light bulb went off in Al's mind.

"OMG! Will, you're a person in a bat suit!" Al flipped out and almost dropped her friend. "But not like Batman…he's an actual man in a bat suit on purpose so– WILL!" Al screamed, startling the bat as she hugged the tiny bat. "You are so cute as a wittle bat!"

Will chirped in protest of being dropped yet again, and tried to push herself from the crushing embrace.

"No escaping, young lady! Let us not forget that you can't fly," Al scolded.

"Al, I think she's trying to tell you you're crushing her," Jack suggested.

"Oh… Sorry Bat-Girl," Al said, snickering a bit.

"Maybe I should hold onto her," Jack suggested, holding out his hand for Will.

"No!" Al said. "I'll be softer."

However, Will struggled and managed to weakly flap her way over to Jack. She barley managed to make to his hand as she grasped his wrist with her claws. She managed to quickly maneuver so she was hanging upside down from his wrist. She chirped angrily at Al before settling into her new position.

"I think she's made up her mind." Jack couldn't help but chuckle at the pout on Al's face.

"Fine!" Al said, grabbing her halberd up. "Let's go find some batty Vampire Brothers."

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

I was so confused when I suddenly found myself as well, small. Honestly, how was I supposed to know? The video game never explained how the Vampire Brothers were turned into bats, but does that means I was supposed to know the tomato juice had been spiked with a bat potion? No! So when I found myself suddenly shrunk down to two inches, you can imagine the panic I felt. I tried to call for help but all that came out of my mouth were chirps. Then I remembered the scene in the game where the Vampires had left a note. It was a long shot, but I needed to get Jack or Al to find the note so they could realize what happened. But let me tell you, trying to get Jack and Al's attention… Yeah, not easy. I couldn't even walk. I did manage to flap and hop my way over to the couch, but instead of getting Al to see me, I may have jumped onto her face. And then Jack had the audacity to throw me in the air. Seriously, what the hell was that?! I felt like Yuki did in that one episode of _Fruits Basket_.

Luckily, Jack found the note, though how bats were able to write with no hands was a mystery to me. But at least they finally understood what had happened to me.

I had to admit, being a bat wasn't so bad — if you didn't count not being able to talk. There was also the fact that walking was difficult and I couldn't fly. I barely merged to escape Al's death grip in order to latch onto Jack. Blood rushed to my head as I hung from his wrist. Fortunately, Jack moved me from his wrist to allow me to perch on his shoulder as we left the Vampires' house. I wrapped my wings around my body as I listened to their plan.

"How we supposed to find the Vampire Brothers?" Al asked. "There's got to be a bunch of bats all over Halloween Town roaming around willy-nilly."

"Yes, but the Vampire Brothers look different from other bats," Jack explained. "Just look for green and black bats with red eyes."

As they talked, I looked around and spotted a bat that fit Jack's description. It was circling a lamppost just over our heads. I chirped in Jack's ear and once he looked at me, I pointed with my wing in the direction of the bat.

"Look, Will found one!" he exclaimed when he spotted the bat.

"Yeah, but how do we get it?" Al asked.

I rolled my eyes. Using my talons, I crawled across Jack's shoulders and down his right arm. I chirped and clawed at the Soul Robber. Jack looked down and smiled as he understood what I was trying to tell him.

"Good thinking, Will." He held out his left hand for me to crawl onto so he could use the Soul Robber. I crawled onto his hand and watched as Jack threw the Soul Robber, catching the bat on the first try. When he brought it back, the bat screeched and hissed.

_Release me! Release me at once!_ That voice. I recognized it as Bela, the vampire who popped out his eye from the movie. I was surprised I could understand him…then realized it was probably due to being a bat myself. I scurried across Jack's shoulder and down his arm again, and tried to call out to Bela.

_Calm down, Bela, _I chirped. _It's us: Jack, Al, and Will._

He stopped fidgeting and looked at me. _Will? Is that really you? What the__–_ _Oh, poor little one._

_Yeah, I accidentally drank the bat potion, I know, but that's not important. We need your help to find your brothers so we can get you all back to normal… Well, maybe abnormal is more appropriate._

"Their having a little conversation that no on else understand…kinda like me and Crepe… Even then that cat doesn't pht my accent pht," Al said.

I rolled my eyes, wishing I could tell her now was not the time for a SpongeBob reference. I turned to see Jack was smiling at me. "Well, it appears you turning into a bat wasn't so bad after all."

If I had hands, I'd smack him upside his skull, but in a way, Jack had a point. Thanks to my new form, I was able to calm down Bela and get us another pair of eyes to search for the other Vampire Brothers. I looked at Jack and tried my best to gesture to let Bela go. Jack seemed puzzled for a moment, but eventually he understood and released Bela.

Bela beat his wings and called after me. _Will, come with me. It will be faster with two eyes in the sky._

_Uh, Bela, I'm not really a bat. I don't know how to fly._

He chuckled. _Don't be silly. It is easy. _He fluttered down and landed beside me on Jack's opposite shoulder._ Just open your wings and flap them as hard as you can. Come now, try._

I shrugged and did as he said.

_Yes, that's it, _he cheered._ Now jump off and take to the sky._

Well, here goes everything. Closing my eyes, I leapt off Jack's shoulder and flapped my wings as hard as I could. For a moment, I waited for the pain of free falling right smack into the cobblestone ground to hit. But it never came. I cracked open one eye and saw I was not falling, but was suspended in midair. I looked around and happily chirped. I was flying! I was really flying!

_Woohoo__!_ I took off and climbed higher. The feeling was amazing and I couldn't help but laugh at the joy and freedom I felt. I suddenly heard a laugh behind me.

_I see you've taken to your new wings_, Bela complimented. _Now, shall we be on our way?_

I nodded and followed after him. I looked below to see Jack and Al following after us. We flew through the town, searching everywhere for Bela's missing brothers. Up ahead I spotted another one of Oogie's traps. I shook my head. How cliché, using swinging axes along the path. Bela and I could easily fly over them, but Jack and Al would have to cross through them. I quickly flew down in front of Jack before he could run right into the swinging blades. He looked at the trap and then back to me.

"You two go on ahead. We'll catch up soon enough."

I nodded and turned back to Bela, relaying the message. He agreed and the two of us flew on ahead, managing to avoid the blades. As we flew over the town, I spotted several other traps and monsters. I wanted to warn Jack and Al again, but something told me they'd figure it out. I just hoped they would be okay.

_Hey, Bela! Wait up!_

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** So yeah, Will's having a bad day with drinks.

**CosmicHorse:** I hate when that happens.

**GodlyJewel:** On to the next chapter... Cause we really need to find Will a cure.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Vampire Hunters**

(Al's POV)

"Hey, not fair, Bat-Girl!" I shouted after Will as she and the other bat took off. Lucky bugger gets to fly while we're stuck hoofing it? So not fair! I noticed Jack was no long beside me. He must have already gone ahead. Turning to look ahead, I became so distracted by the swinging axe that I slowly started to get hypnotized. Frank croaked; we were getting a little too close to the blades for his taste.

"Al, come on!" Jack called from the other side, but I had yet to move. Without fully realizing what was going on, I found myself on the other side of the blades. I had strolled right through, not even being hit by the axe. Weird.

"How… How did you do that!?" Jack asked.

I violently shook my head and glanced around. "How did I get here?" I asked, glancing behind me. "Ah… Zombie Mode."

"Zombie Mode?"

"Yea, that usually happens after I pull an all-nighter during school. I just walk around in a daze and actually don't hit anything… Weird, right?" I said, shrugging it off. "Come on, let's roll."

I jogged off to the next swinging axe and let myself slip into Zombie Mode again. I strode through unscathed, though Frank was not enjoying the axes one bit. Thanks to my Zombie Mode and Jack's natural — not to mention extremely flexible — gymnastic skills, we went through the axes rather easily and ended up in some sort of secluded area. We ran past some stairs and managed to even bypass a King Skeleton as we rounded a corner.

"We're heading into the Slums," Jack called to me over his shoulder.

"You guys have Slums? Not cool, bro," I muttered as I spotted the green sewer water. I also noticed that there were several overflowing trashcans in every corner, and several rats were running all over the place. As we ran through the Slums, Jack and I battled several zombie skeletons. All the while we kept our eyes (and eye sockets) open for any bats matching the Vampires' description. At one point, Jack spotted a covered area that had an opening large enough for a bat to crawl through. He suggested we search it, and I followed him inside.

The moment we stepped inside, two King Skeletons showed up. Our weapons were out and the battle was on, the King Skeletons hacking at us with their axes. "Bloody hell! My brethren are trying to kill me!" I shouted, hacking back at them with Bertha.

"Brethren?" Jack asked, attacking with the Soul Robber.

"Yeah, I'm Norwegian. Thus, I'm of Viking blood. These guys are like Vikings, and thus, they are my brethren… Though they are trying to kill me," I said, surprising myself that I was able to keep talking while battling these guys. Jack's battle buddy roared and tried to crush him under his foot, while, the one I was facing took a swing at me, nearly slicing my head off. "Not nice Uncle Olaf and Grandpa Leif!"

"Al, I'm pretty sure none of these monsters are related to you," Jack said as the King Skeleton slashed at him with his axe. He fought back with a double hit combo to the monster's spin. It took a long time, and much chainsawing, but we finally managed to defeat the King Skeletons.

While we took a breather, a small glint caught my eye. I turned to see a crystal skull hiding behind a large crate. "Pretty!"

"Al…" Jack gave me a hesitant look.

"Sorry! I have slight A.D.D. … I'll explain what A.D.D. is later, okay?" I said, rushing off.

Taking note of my tone, Frank snatched the Skull up with his tongue. He retracted his tongue, and held his prize up for me to take. Luckily I'd picked up Will's pack and stashed the skull into the main pocket. Then I turned to Frank and cuddled him.

"I'm glad I picked you up, Frank," I said, snuggling my face into his side.

"All right, you two. Let's go!" Jack called as he raced outside. "We still have three missing vampires to find."

Making sure Frank clung securely to my shoulder, I followed after the tall skeleton. As we searched, we came across a boarded up bridge. Jack used his Pumpkin Fire to open a path for us, twice, before we were able to get across. And just my luck, at the end was a very long, very high staircase waiting for us.

"My arch enemy. We meet again," I said, glaring daggers at the stairs.

Jack took the lead and we climbed up the three flights of stairs. By the time we reached the top, I was exhausted and hating stairs even more than I usually do. But we weren't done yet. Apparently we had to swing over what looked like a **twenty-foot** drop to reach the other side. Jack was ready to go, but I just stared down at the cobblestone below, my fear of heights kicking in to the maximum level. This was worse than when we were jumping around the Big Pumpkin Head. At least if I fell there, I'd land on dirt or mushy pumpkin guts. One wrong move here, and I'd be street pizza.

"We're going to have to cross," Jack said, breaking my train of thought. He whipped his Soul Robber over to the other side, and held out his hand for me. "Come on, Al."

I shook my head and backed away. Just to clarify, when I was a child, I fell from a really tall ladder, and ever since, I've had have a HUGE fear of heights. Clearly the fear was shown on my face because Jack lowered his hand and gave me a concerned look.

"Al? Are you all right?" he asked, taking note of my wide eyes and trembling body.

"I…uh…don't do well with heights…" I explained. "Remember, back at the Big Pumpkin head? I wasn't exactly happy 'bout jumping down eight feet. _This_ is much, much worse."

Jack nodded his head and before I could say another word, Jack lifted me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and swung us across. I screamed bloody murder until he placed me back on my feet. Once I felt the ground beneath me, I instantly relaxed…until I turned back to glare at him.

"I am no sack of potatoes!" I yelled at him. Then I realized he was just helping, so I softened a bit. I turned and crossed my arms over my chest. "But thanks for getting me over."

"No problem." He grinned. "Shall we go?"

I turned and gave him my classic smirk. "Let's roll, Coco-mo!"

We were about to run across the platform when a King Skeleton appeared. Seriously?! These guys just didn't know when to quit. Jack hit it with a triple combo attack, knocking the axe from its hands. Then I snuck in with a fatal swipe with my chainsaw, beheading the Skeleton. Jack gave me a thumbs up and started running, only to run right smack into another King Skeleton.

"Jack, duck!" I shouted, but the King Skeleton had knocked him down, and struck Jack in the head with the butt of its axe. The adrenaline surged through me, and I launched myself at the Skeleton. Frank blocked its sight for a moment, while I hacked off its legs. Then Frank leapt off its head, freeing me to stab it in the rib cage and carve up, cutting the King Skeleton in half. Its bones crumpled to the ground and I stood back to catch my breath. I heard a croak, and turned to see my little frog staring at me. I gave Frank a thumbs up. "Good work!"

"Ribbit!" He hopped over and perched himself on my shoulder.

I heard a groan, and looked over to see Jack staggering to his feet. He was trying to clear the stars from his head and he swayed as he walked. I rushed over and offered him my shoulder to balance on.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he insisted. "Just a little dizzy."

"Here. This might help," I said.

He groaned again, and turned to lean on the wall. I set Bertha down, and removed Will's pack to search for the Crystal Bottle. I found the bottle, chuckling when the image of Will getting a lisp popped into my mind. I handed Jack the bottle and he took a swig of the green Spring Water. While he waited for the healing water to take affect, a large purple structure drew my attention. Without thinking, I ran over to it, making Jack double take.

"Where are you going?" he asked. I ignored him and stopped once I reached the structure. It was shaped like a giant snake, reminding me of something belonging to Slytherin, but Tim Burton styled. A hand on my shoulder startled me. I turned to see Jack, holding Will's pack in his other hand.

"Do you even know where you're going?" he asked as I took the pack, and placed it on my shoulders.

I shrugged. "No idea. I'm just making this up as I go," I said. He shrugged his shoulders and then we over to the structure. Once we stepped on it, it stared to spin and descend.

"Almost nap time," I said, resting against the wall. Frank croaked in agreement.

"I think this leads back down to the Slums," Jack observed, but I was too tired to really care.

The structure suddenly stilled. We walked carefully off the structure onto a lower jaw of a stone snake's head. Jack jumped down, but I wasn't as sure. Then I noticed that as I stepped onto the snake's tongue, it sort of perched next to a similar snake figure. I looked down its throat and spotted an opening. I suddenly got the feeling to duck into that opening.

"Al, where are you going?" Jack called from below.

I ignored him and raced across the snakes' tongues, ignoring the nine-foot drop leading into either the green sewage or the hard cobblestone. I ran into the opening and came into a room that looked like an old medieval-style dungeon. The walls and ceiling were lined with cobblestone and cobwebs, and a few coffins. But that wasn't all. A hoard of skeletons met my eyes, as did a Vampire Brother bat. As I was revving Bertha, I heard Jack run in behind me.

Not wasting any time, I shouted, "Jack, get the bat! I'll hold them off!"

Jack nodded and launched the Soul Robber, snatching the bat right out of the air. "Nice catch!" I called, backing madly away from the opening after Jack. To bad, I didn't even get to hit any zombies. The skeletons stayed in the opening as we regrouped outside. The bat Jack had caught began screeching and flapping, trying to free itself.

"Calm down, Mr. Vampire!" I said, pulling the bat from the Soul Robber and hugging him.

"Al, I think you made him pass out…" Jack said, pointing to the now motionless bat.

"Oopsies…" I mutter, looking down. I shrugged and tied the bat securely where my meat cleaver used to hang. I turned to see Jack had disappeared. Where the heck did he go? Honestly, if he was trying to be funny and try to scare me…

"Al, jump down!" Jack called. I looked over the edge to see Jack standing on the ground below. I was about to join him when he was blindsided by a large spiked ball. I watched as he got back to his feet, and used his Soul Robber to take down one of the booby-trapped gargoyles. I thought once that was gone, it'd be safe to jump. Wrong again.

As soon as the gargoyle was gone, four zombie skeletons with clubs appeared. Jack took out the first one, then grabbed the second with the Soul Robber and threw it at the other two. One was able to reanimate itself and charged at Jack. He countered by with a triple slash to the zombie's ribcage, which sent it crumbling to the ground. A fifth zombie skeleton appeared and smack Jack in his should with its mace. Jack was knocked back, but he quickly paired, and used a spin attack. The Soul Robber finished it off, and everything went quiet apart from the rushing sound of the sewer water.

"It safe now?" I called.

"Come on down," Jack called.

I nodded and, taking a deep breath, jumped down. Jack caught me and set me on the ground before we starting running again. We rounded a bend, only to find the path ended. I looked around for a bridge, but looked like the only way to go was up. Great! More heights. I took a hold of Jack and we swung up on to the balcony of the building to cross over to the other side. We jumped down, and we continued on, keeping our eyes open for the remaining two Vampire Brothers.

"Al, this way!" Jack ducked into another alley. This one looked like the face of a frightening phantom with teeth. I followed after him, only for us to end up right back where we started, in the Residential Area where we had bypassed the Troll Skeleton. Jack raced around the corner, this time heading up the stairs.

"Joy! More stairs." Seeing, how I didn't have a choice, I trudged up the stairs, muttering under my breath, "Hating this, hating this, hating this!"

When I reached the top, I spotted Jack heading towards what looked like some odd bell tower. He grappled up to the top and started looking around. I was a little annoyed at being left behind, though part of me was glad I didn't have to tackle any more heights. Suddenly the ground shook and I looked up to see something huge popping up from the center of the tower. It had to be at least one hundred feet tall, and looked like some gnarled fish bone of a barracuda. It reflected the brownish, green-yellow color of the toxic cesspool it sprang from. The way it snapped its jaws and had spinning blades rotating all the way down its spine made me realize it was a giant shredder.

"Goodness! That looks like fun!" I laughed. Hearing me, Jack turned and jumped back to the edge just in time to avoid the blades. While he kept his eye sockets on the shredder, I noticed another Vampire bat. "Jack, bat off the starboard bow heading aft!"

Jack gave me a strange look. "Right side moving back!" I repeated in plain English.

He turned around and tried to grab it with his hands, but the little bugger flew just out of his reach. Frustrated, Jack whipped out the Soul Robber and caught the bat. It struggled and flapped about trying to free itself. Jack kept a tight grip on it, and began searching for the last bat. He searched along the border, swinging over the pit each time the shedder sank down, but there was no sign of the last bat. He spotted an outcrop and used it to disappear to the top.

I waited about five minutes before shouting, "Find anything yet?"

Jack shook his skull. "No, nothing. I found a bridge connecting to the rooftops. I'll search over that way."

No way I was waiting here by myself. As much I knew I would hate it, I had to get up there. "Wait for me!"

"You sure?" He looked at me, slightly surprised that I wanted to go higher off the ground. I nodded my head and he whipped the Soul Robber. It hit me, and wrapped tightly around me waist, before pulling me right to the edge of the bridge. Once it released me, I slung myself over the edge and got to my feet. I was about to say thanks when the Town's cat alarm went off.

_My dearly abhorred denizens of Oogie Town!_

"Damn, not again." I slapped my palm to my forehead.

_Thanks to my own __thanks to my own diabolically ingenious thinking, I have decided to become ruler of not only Oogie Town, but all the holidays as well. We will soon be able to celebrate "Oogie Boogie Day" seven days every year! Preparations have already been made. I will go secure the final remaining holiday myself. After all, I have a debt to repay. Soon I shall be the Seven Holidays King, so stay tuned! Ba ha ha ha ha!_

The speaker turned off and it was quiet again. I looked over and Jack looked like he was about ready to go John Wayne on Oogie's sorry ass. I cautiously removed the still struggling bat from his grasp before taking a step back, worrying Jack might go Postal Pumpkin King and burn the whole building down any second. Seeing a cluster of bats flying of the left, I snuck away to find the last Vampire bother while a certain someone cooled down. I ran down a ways before pausing to deal with a certain bat refused to calm down. I slung Will's pack off my shoulders and opened to main pocket to shove the persistent flapper inside. I clamped one hand over to top to prevent escape, while using my free hand to retrieve the unconscious bat from my sash. I slipped him inside then zipped the bag shut. The other bat flapped around frantically, but he wasn't getting out.

I slipped the pack back on my shoulder then went in search of the last bat. I spotted one bat and ran after it. I was getting close when a spiked ball nearly hit me. I really had no time for this. I whipped out Bertha and slashed the statue in half. Looking around I saw several other gargoyles waiting up ahead, and the rooftops were crawling with so many bats, I had not idea how I was supposed to find the last one.

"Bloody hell… Bertha, you hungry for some stone darling?" I asked my chainsaw. I revved Bertha's engine, making her bade blaze to a burning red fire, and charged. I hacked up two more gargoyles and scanned several bats, but still no sign of the bat I was looking for. Just as I was heading down a bridge leading back to where I had left Jack, when I heard someone shout.

"Al, watch your head!"

I spotted Jack on the other side when a large black shadow dove towards me. I dropped to my knees before the very bat I'd been looking for swooped over my head. I was about to stand to grab for it, when I had to duck again as two more bats flew straight at me. "It's in my hair!"

One of them turned around and chirped in my face. I looked up to see two peeved off blue eyes looking down at me. "Oh… Hi, Will."

She nodded then took off after the other bats. Bloody rats with wings! I decided not to say it aloud since Will would probably claw me with her new talons. I watched as she chased after the other two bats. She was flying circles around the other two, all of them screeching at each other. Man, I wish I could speak bat.

"Glad you're all right." I jumped when Jack's voice suddenly appeared behind me.

"Geez man. You really are the Master of Fright."

"Sorry, force of habit." His smile faded and he reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Al, I apologize for losing my temper. Its just, I can't help but think this is all my fault."

"Hey, I'm part Redhead. I get loosing tempers. We're cool, Bone Man," I said, offering him a fist.

Jack looked puzzled and hesitantly copied my gestured. I laughed, and bumped his fist. "It's called a fist bump, dude."

I laughed as he looked at his first, trying to figure it out. Suddenly, I heard several small chirps above me. I looked up to see Will flying towards us, two bats following behind her.

"Woohoo! Go Will!" I fist pumped the air as the approached.

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

_Hey Al, look who we caught_, I chirped. Boy, I wish she could understand me. I was so happy Bela and I had finally caught up with Lon. I hadn't realized how fast a frightened bat could fly when he didn't recognize his friends.

"I don't know what you said…" Al said, looking a little confused.

_Sorry_, I chirped in apology.

_Let me out! Let me OUT!_

_That sounds like Max_, Bela said, flying up next to me.

_Agreed brother_, Lon added. _But I do not see him._

Listening carefully with my now sensitive ears, I noticed the screaming came from behind Al. I flew behind her and saw my pack was moving around on her back.

"Gah! Get away!" Al all but screamed.

_Sorry!_ I tried to apologize. I forgot Al had a little problem with anyone being behind her where she couldn't see them. I flew next to the pack and used my feet to undo the zipper. The moment it opened, two more bats flew out of my backpack.

_Max! John!_ Bela screeched in delight and flew to greet his startled brothers. _Thank Halloween, you are all right._

_Bela, is that you?_ Max asked. He flew in a circle around his brothers, happy to recognize them. _John, Lon. Wonderful. I thought I had lost you after the transformation._

_We all would have been lost_, Bela explained, _had Jack, Will and Al not discovered our note. But, not all is well, my brothers._

_He's right! We must get back to our coffins if we want to be our old selves again_, John said.

_Well, then what are you boys flying around for?_ I asked. _Let's get back to your place, and get you all fixed up. Also, might wanna think about throwing out that tomato juice, so we don't have to play hide-and-go-shriek, bat version again._

_Who is that? _Max asked, pointing his right wing at me.

_That is Will the human. I'm afraid the girl found Oogie's elixir_, Bela explained.

_Look we can give you the whole story on the way, but right now,__ less chatting and more flapping. _I circled them once and then hovered next to Jack and Al. I tugged on Jack's tie to interpret we were ready to go.

He nodded and then started off running. I heard Al groan as she tried to match his pace. Meanwhile, the Vampire Brothers and I flew overhead. Now that we were all together again, I could warn Jack and Al of any dangers up ahead. By the time we got back to the Vampires' house, Jack and Al had defeated four King Skeletons and were able to avoid getting hit by the swinging axes. Bela and I had also gotten the other vampires up to speed on what had been happening, and I got some compliments from John and Lon on my new form. Man was I glad Al couldn't hear them. They were being nice, but honestly, telling me my bat features looked adorable made me feel like I was five years old.

Al walked in first, but Jack held open the door as the Vampire Brothers and I flew in. I followed them up to the rafters, and perched myself next to Bella. Once we were all inside, Jack walked over to the coffins.

"Alright, lets get you all back to your frightening selves."

First up was Max, since he was the eldest. He flew down and allowed Jack to help him into his coffin, the one that appeared to be a regular bed. Once he was inside, Jack closed the lid and stepped in front of the next coffin, this one belonging to John. John flew down from the rafters and allowed Jack to help him inside his dresser-shaped coffin. Once John was in, it was Bela's turn. I waved at him as Bela flew down to be placed into his clock-coffin. Jack placed him inside, and then it was finally Lon's turn. Jack eased him into his couch-coffin, just as he had done the others, and closed the lid.

Jack took a step back and we all waited for something to happen. Though we didn't have to wait long. Soon, all the coffins began to rattle, and smoke started seeping out.

"Ooo epic…" Al said in awe.

One by one, the Vampire Brothers emerged. All of them were back to there old, vampiric forms. Max sighed. "… Aaah. At last I'm my old self!"

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"My brothers and I opposed Oogie's plan. We told him this isn't the Halloween you wanted. So he tricked us and trapped us in our bat form. Sorry, Jack. While I was a bat I couldn't recognize you. Ohhh, my strength…" Max began to fall forward.

Jack quickly ran forward and caught him before he could fall over. "You look undead tired. You should rest."

Max shook his head, having more he needed to say. "For generations we vampires have been entrusted to guard the key to the Mayor's house… Jack, take this…" He handed Jack a piece of the key from his pocket. "My brothers will have the remaining pieces of the key."

"Here Jack…take this…" John reached into his pocket and withdrew the second piece of the key. He held it out and Jack took it from him.

Bela did the same, and then Lon presented Jack with his piece. "This is the last piece," he said.

"Thanks." Jack took the four pieces and walked over to Al. He placed all the pieces in the center outside pocket, before turning back to the vampires.

"Now the way to the Mayor's house has been opened to you, Jack," Max said before his expression became serious. "We have to tell you about Oogie's plan. He used his henchmen to abduct the other Holiday Leaders."

"They dragged the leaders here, then took away the Holiday doors so the leaders couldn't return to their own worlds," John added. "Lock, Shock, and Barrel then hid the doors in each area of the town so they wouldn't be discovered."

"The poor Easter Bunny!" Al exclaimed.

_Al, Easter Bunny ain't the only one in trouble_, I scolded. Too bad she couldn't hear me.

Jack looked horrified. "So the leaders of Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and the other holidays are being held prisoner somewhere in this town!?"

Bela nodded. "Precisely. Oogie's plan is to take over the holidays and become the Seven Holidays King."

"The Seven Holidays King? This is intolerable!"

"Crappy title," Al said. "I think I heard him say that earlier. Oogie has bad naming skills." I chirped in agreement.

_I remember hearing that, but didn't he also say he had secure the final holiday?_ I asked. Then I remembered the date and shrieked. _Crap! That's less than a few hours away!_

"Um… Will is making bat communication noise." Al looked up as I tried desperately to tell her and Jack what was happening.

"Will has realized the final step in Oogie's plan," Bela explained. Man was I happy someone could understand me. "She is trying to tell you that Oogie has yet to take over Christmas Town. But, I'm afraid you cannot enter that world without the Christmas Door, and we have no idea where it is."

_So, what are we supposed to do_? I asked

"First you have to find the holiday doors," Lon explained. "Otherwise you won't be able to return the leaders even if you find them. Take back those doors, and find out where the leaders are being held."

"Already done, sort of." Al cheerfully pointed to the pocket with the shrunken doors.

"Very good," Max said through a yawn. "Forgive us, my friends, but we must rest if we are to replenish our strength."

"Thanks again for all your help," Jack said as both Max and John slipped into their coffins. "Rest easy now."

They nodded and closed the lids. Bela was also beginning to fade. Like his brother, he was exhausted. "We're counting on you." He yawned and sank back into his coffin.

"Goodnight," Jack said, "and unpleasant dreams."

I flew down from the rafters and perched on Jack's shoulder. I was hoping I could ask Lon if he knew of a way for me to turn back into a human. Just as I was about to ask,

Al picked up her weapons and headed for the door. "What are we waiting for? We already found some of the doors, so we're slightly there. So let's get all the way there!" her frog croaked in agreement.

I chirped sharply, and clenched my talons on Jack's shoulder. When I saw him wince, I relaxed but continued to glare at Al.

"Uh, Al," Jack began to say. "We have one more problem."

She stopped and turned her head. "What now?"

I wonder if she could see me rolling my eyes. I flew over and chirped in her face, flapping my wings against her cheek. "Oh crap, I forgot about you." She turned to Lon, pointed at me and asked, "Do you know how we fix this problem."

My hopes began to fade when I saw him frown. "I'm afraid not. As vampires, we have the natural ability to shift our forms, so the potion was designed to keep us trapped in that state. However, since young Will was human when she took the potion, I know not how to return her to her human form."

"Hmm… This is a problem." Jack pondered for a moment before getting an idea. "Perhaps Helgamine and Zeldaborne can turn you back to normal."

Of course, the witches had all kinds of crazy potions in their shop. They must have one to turn me back into my old self. It should be simple enough. _What are we waiting for? Lets go!_ I cheered.

Lon chuckled. "Yes, I understand your excitement, little one. But are you sure? You make a lovely bat."

_Sorry Lon_, I apologized. _I will miss the wings, but I also miss being able to walk. Plus, this would make family reunions a little awkward._

"Would you two quit having a private conversation!" Al said. "I feel left out…"

Man, I hated when she pouted. I felt bad and perched on her shoulder to nuzzle her cheek. Another thing downside to being a bat: I couldn't talk with my best friend. Al lightly pouted and looked generally sad.

"I… I miss my normal Will."

"Well, then I guess we better get to the Witch shop," Jack said, gesturing to the door.

Al and I looked at each other and I flew up in the air. _Let's make me human again._

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Anybody have any ideas about turning someone human?

*****off screen chorus*****

You got to dig a little deeper  
Find out who you are  
You got to dig a little deeper  
It really ain't that far

**CosmicHorse:** NO! No singing!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: ****High Flyers**

(Kat's POV)

_Mazatlán, Mexico…_

The Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán Resort! Best known for its five star hotels, white sandy beaches, and the occasional drug cartel sitting on the boardwalk. My family and I have been coming here for years. The first year we came here my seven-year-old sister fell in the kitty pool and almost drowned.

We used to rent a car, but that was a few years ago. You see, we were driving inland to this remote town, when we came across this guy at a tollbooth who told us to use a "residential road" (a.k.a. dirt, sticks, and more dirt) as a short cut. So, my dad takes this "residential road" with my mom, my sister, my two cousins, my aunt and uncle, and my self in the SUV, when we run into a couple — no scratch that — a HEARD of bulls! Afraid that if we honked the horn we were going to be tipped over by a miffed off bull, we sat in the car with the windows rolled up in case one of the bulls decided to stick their heads in the car… Did I mention that our car didn't have AC?

Any who, about thirty minuets went by with my entire family in the SUV, before the heard of bulls in front of us FINALLY decided they would move to the side of the road…except for one. We eventually had to go around the bull to make it to our destination. That was the last time we rented a car.

Now I was sitting poolside looking out at the ocean. The beach was packed with out-of-town tourist, and random street vendors hustling the Americans on the beach. It was about ten in the afternoon, so the pool wasn't too busy.

Suddenly I got a text from Al. I looked at my phone and saw a picture of a bat. In her message, Al stated: _Check it out: Will is Batgirl! Lol_

I put my drink down and taped the screen to type my reply. However, this proved to be difficult because the screen was moving around, and the keyboard kept swiveling to the side and back. As I squinted through my extremely blurred vision, I managed to type something similar to: _I no iz drunk, but how many drinks have you toe had?_

Apparently, I am not the only one that has been drinking too much. I sent the message and as I waited for Will and/or Al — can't remember which one texted me — to reply. I put my phone on what I thought was the bar counter, but no. It was the Tequila Sunrise that was half full in the glass next to me.

I took my phone out of my drink, spilling the rest of it on my lap. Just perfect! I grabbed a bottle of water and started to head toward a less crowned area of the beach. The sun was going down and I looked to the pool, watching the cabana boys washing the sand off of the walk ways, lounge chairs, and folding up the umbrellas. I walked a little closer to the water and sat down on the warm sand.

In my drunken thoughts, I thought for a moment that if I put my phone in the sand, the sand would absorb the liquor. I started to dig a hole to put my phone in and from behind me I here a guy yell, "Watch out!"

I stopped digging in the sand, popped my head up, and look in the direction where the voice was coming from. Too stupid to move out of the way — mostly because I have had one to many drinks — I see a spiraling football heading toward me face.

"Oh no…" I said aloud just as the football hit me on the side of my face. I could feel a quick, spark rush of pain and as my head hit the beach, and then I passed out.

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

_Hemlock Homestead, Halloween Town…_

_Would you quit taking pics of me_, Will squeaked as Al took another picture with her phone.

"Don't know what you said, but you are so dang cute!" Al laughed, snapping another picture. Will glared at her and she finally slipped her phone back in the backpack.

The three of them kept walking till they came to a fork in the road. Jack looked around: one way led back to the Town Square, the other would take them to the Mayor's house. He looked at his friends and sighed. He knew they weren't going to like what he was about to say.

"Al, I need the key pieces to the Mayor's house. I'm going on ahead, and I need you to go with Will to the Witch Shop."

"What?!" Both Al and Will looked at him in shock. "Umm, how about no?" Al said, putting her hands on her hips. Will flew close to Jack's face, and squeaked that it was out of the question.

Jack held up his hands in defense. "Look, I don't like it either, but we don't have much of a choice. The Mayor may be in danger, but Will also needs a cure. I don't want an argument; I've made up my mind. I'm sorry, but once the witches find a way to return Will to normal, I want both of you to go home."

"I repeat, NO!"

_Jack, you can't be serious? You need our help!_ Will protested.

"Not sure what she's squeaking about, but it sounds like I'm going to agree with her." Al added. "We do NOT split up, no matter what."

Jack shook his head, his anger starting to show. "This isn't up for debate! I knew this would get dangerous, and look what's happened. Both of you have been hurt multiple times, and now Will's been turned into a bat. And I have a feeling things will only get worse. Believe me, I'm doing this to protect both of you. Now please, hand me the keys."

Al grumbled but she reluctantly gave him the four key pieces. He took the pieces and stowed them in his jacket pocket. Then he turned back to the girls. They were both glaring at him, but he couldn't risk their lives anymore. He was already dead, but they still had lives to live back in the Human World.

"Thank you for all your help." Jack waved to them, then took off down the road. Once he was gone, Al let out her rage.

"That deranged bag of bones! If he weren't already dead, I'd beat his brain in and kill him! … That… That… RAWR!"

Will chirped in agreement, but what else could they do. Al looked at her friend and decided the first thing to do was get Will back to her human self. She took off down the opposite path; Frank perched on her shoulder and Will flying just overhead. Before long, they reached the Town Square and made a direct line for the Witch Shop. Al opened the door and the little bell chimed, but as Will and Al stepped further into the shop, Helgamine and Zeldaborne were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Al asked. While she looked around, Will perched herself on the counter. Al joined her. "So, flying. Super cool?" she asked Will, then her eyes strayed to the plate bedside Will. "Oh! Cookies!"

Al reached for one of the treats on the plate next to Will. The cookies were black and shaped like spiders, cats, and bats. Al picked one up and went to take a bite, when something smacked the cookie from her hand.

"Hey!" She looked to she Will frantically screeching at her, flapping in front of the cookie plate. "You already owe me a cookie. Shove off." She bopped her friend to the side, and took a bite of the cookie.

There was a puff of smoke and Frank croaked, quickly jumping onto the counter.

_Ah, Ally. I tried to warn you_, Will moaned. She settled on the counter next to Frank.

_Warn me about what?_ Al asked, before something dawned on her. _Holy flying rats, Batgirl! I can understand you!_

_Yeah, Al, about that… Do you notice anything…odd?_ Will asked.

Now that she mentioned it, Al noticed she had to look up at the counter to talk to Will. Wasn't she looking down before? She looked down and saw a pair of slick black cat paws, and her clothing pooled around her. She screamed but it came out as a loud cat shriek.

_I'm a cat!'_ she screamed, getting onto her feet and circling herself, seeing her hindquarters and a long tail.

_Al, try to calm down_, Will called from the counter.

_Holy catnip! I'm a cat!_ Al suddenly cheered, leaping onto the counter. She pranced around, twitching her tail. She looked at her friend, and got a gleam in her eye before batting at Will.

_Al!_ Will flew just out of her friend's reach. _Knock it off. Bad kitty!_

"Did you hear something, Zelda?" asked a voice from the back. Al stopped trying to catch Will, and stared off towards the back room. Will settled down beside her, listening as they heard another voice.

"Must be a be a customer, Helgamine. I'll go see who it is." Will and Al watched as Zeldaborne stepped out from the back room. She was surprised when she spotted a frog, a cat, and a bat on the counter. "Now how in the world did you three get in here?"

_Zelda, help!_ Will cried. _It's us, Will and Al!_

_Umm Will, we're animals now. No one understands us except each other_, Al said, giving her friend a sideways look.

Zeldaborne noticed the pile of clothes on the floor next to a couple of weapons and the backpack Helgamine had sold to Jack and Will earlier. "Oh, you poor dears," Zeldaborne said. "Will, dear, I thought you learned from the last time not to eat Helgamine's transformation cookies."

_I didn't! Al's the one who ate the cookie_, Will protested. _My little mishap is the reason we're here._

_Wait, they can understand us?!_ Al asked, meowing lightly.

"Well, just animals witches can use as familiars, dear," Zeldaborne explained. "But don't worry. The effects of the cookie will where off soon enough. Though, I'm happy this time it worked for a black cat transformation." She turned to Will, a puzzled frown appearing on her face. "Now, Will. If you didn't eat one of the cookies, how on earth did you turn into a bat?"

_So I won't be a cat forever?_ Al asked, interrupting Zelda's question. Her eyes grew wide. _Can… Can I still speak to other cats though? Pretty please? I'll trade you my Crystal Skull collection for that ability. And how do you know about transformation cookies, Will?_ She turned to look accusingly at her friend, who froze after being caught trying to sneak away.

"Oh dear, you mean she never told you?" Zeldaborne was genially surprised.

_We don't need to tell her that!_ Will quickly panicked.

"Nonsense, it's perfectly fine."

_Tell me please!_ Al said, rubbing against the witch.

_Ah man._ Will flapped her wings and flew up to the rafters, hiding herself in her wings.

Zeldaborne chuckled. "Now Will, dear, its nothing to be embarrassed over. It was during the time Jack planned to take over Christmas. Jack asked if Helga and I wanted to make a treat that would surprise the kids. Well, we thought children would get quite the surprise out of our transformation cookies. We made a batch and had Will test them for us."

"I remember that," Helgamine said, stepping out from the back room. "Didn't she eat five of those? As you can imagine, we decided to scratch the idea, but we couldn't resist trying out the recipe again."

"Anyway, the potion we used worked, and turned Will into a blonde cat," Zelda continued. "Although the potion was meant to turn her into a black cat, like you. The poor dear was stuck that way for over two hours."

_Please, stop talking about it_, Will moaned from above.

_Will, you were a cat?!_ Al asked, looking up at her friend. _That is so cool!_

_No it wasn't!_ Will flew down and sat on Al's back. _Look, I'll give you details later, but right now, can we figure out how to get me back to normal, please?_

_And can I get a confirmation on being able to always speak with cats?_ Al asked.

Helgamine pondered for a moment. "Well, I don't know about the cats, but as for you, Will, I'll need to know what happened in order to counteract whatever spell or potion caused you to transform."

Will then went to explain what happened with the Vampire Brothers, while Al tried to entice Zeldaborne into finding a way for her to talk with cats. When Will finished, Helgamine and Zeldaborne looked at each other with a worried glance. They turned to Will, and the young bat began to worry.

"Well, dear," Helgamine began to say. "This is a problem."

_What do you mean?_ Will asked.

"She means that, without knowing what ingredients were used, making a counteracting potion won't be easy," Zeldaborne explained.

_Well, that sucks…_ Al said, her tail twitching lightly. _And again, about chatting with other cats…_

"I'll see what we can do. Zelda, would you give me a hand?" Helgamine grabbed a vial off the shelf behind her, and slipped into the back room.

"You want newt or rat?" Zeldaborne asked. She was heading to the back, when she paused and plucked a hair from the top of Will's head.

_Oww!_

When both witches were out of sight, Will and Al were left alone on the counter. Al smirked and turned a twin pair of mischievous green eyes on the blue-eyed bat. _Wanna play tag?_ There was another puff of smoke and Al stood there, back to normal. "Whoo! That's a good draft!" Al shrieked, diving for her clothes.

Once Al was covered, the two waited for Helgamine and Zeldaborne to work on a potion. To keep from getting bored, Al alternated between playing with Frank, and playing a few rounds of "Smack the Bat." Of course, after the first time, Will moved back to the ceiling. Al pouted, so instead she explored the different herbs, potions, and other magical items in the shop. She had just found a bottle of equestrian formula, when the witches returned.

"Hey, what's this do?" Al asked, holding up the bottle up.

"Good to see you back on two legs, dear," Helgamine said. She noticed the bottle and smiled. "Oh, that? Just a little equestrian concentrate we collected from a Samhain festival in Scotland a few hundred years ago. Not really sure what to use it for, but never hurts to have it around."

"Huh…" Al said, turning it slightly in her hands. "Say ladies…" Al began, setting the bottle onto the counter. "How much would it take to purchase this potion?"

"Let's change Will back first, then we'll work out a bargain." Zeldaborne hoped up on her stool and set a small bubbling cauldron on the counter, while Helgamine set a variety of items next to a small bowl. Al watched as she then mixed together the last items into a small bowl: two raven feathers, three flicks of ground cinnamon, four leeches, and two scoops of lacewing flies. Helgamine mashed it into a fine paste, and then poured it into the cauldron for Zeldaborne to stir. Al and Will peered into the cauldron and quickly drew back. Inside bubbly a thick dark, muddy substance slowly began changing to grayish lavender.

"Lavender, so Will. Say…that looks like…" Al looked at the bubbly sludge again before her eyes went wide. "Polyjuice Potion!"

_Professor Snape would be very proud_, Will said, giggling a bit. Too bad Al couldn't hear her comment.

"Not sure what you mean, but this was the closet spell we could find," Helgamine said. "We used an old shape-shifter's spell, combined with a bat transformation. I just hope this will work."

"Come on, what could possibly go wrong?" Al asked.

Will flinched, suddenly unsure about drinking the strange concoction. Zeldaborne took out a ladle and scooped up some of the sludge, holding it out for Will. Will took a step forward, covering her nose with her wing. The scent coming from it was a sickly sweet mixture of pomegranate, and blackberry, with a hint of dead violets. Still, it was her only option. Taking a deep breath, Will placed her lips to the ladle and took two large gulps.

"You'll need to drink the whole ladle, dear," Helgamine coaxed.

Will nodded and proceeded to down the whole ladle. She cringed as she forced herself to swallow the rest. Al watched her friend, and felt the bile rise in her throat. Watching Will drink the lumpy goo was bad enough, but the sweetness permeating her nose made her stomach turn. It took all she had not to lose her lunch. When the ladle was cleaned, they all watched, waiting for any change. Will just kept her eyes closed, waiting for something while also trying to rid the taste from her mouth.

After about a minute, Will opened her eyes and looked around. She sighed. "Nothing happened."

"I understand you!" Al screamed.

"Hey, you're right." Will smiled, but that quickly turned to a frown. "But I'm still a bat."

"Yes, I'm afraid the potion will take some time before it is fully effective," Zeldaborne apologized. "Since I don't know what ingredients Oogie used to turn the Vampire Brothers into bats, neither of us can be certain how effective it will be. There is a possibility there will be some side effects that could be permanent."

"Well, that could be fun…" Al said, thinking lightly before smiling. "Is good to have you back, Will."

"Good to be understood." She turned to face the witches. "Thanks for all your help." Will flapped her wings and flew toward the door. "Come on, Al. We need to go help Jack."

"Wait, I still wanna make a purchase of this potion and cat speaking abilities," Al said.

"Really? You wanna miss out on beating up more zombies and taking that Bug Sack out before he can ruin Christmas?"

"Can I make a quick exchange for this potion and cat speaking abilities for this Crystal Skull?" She held up the Crystal Skull and made the exchange, however, Helgamine told her she would need to return late for the cat potion. With an angry sigh, Al made the deal, and then gathered the weapons and the backpack before bolting for the door. "Oops! Almost forgot Frank."

"Al, leave the frog. Unless you want him to get smashed, crushed or possibly eaten," Will said.

"But-but-but he's my-my Frank!" Al said, giving Will the best puppy dog pout she could muster.

Will rolled her eyes. "Fine, bring the frog."

"Wait, take this bottle." Helgamine handed Al the Crystal Bottle. "You can fill it with Spring Water to drink when you feel tired."

"Uh, as a previous consumer, I recommend Al and I just let Jack drink it, since it doesn't burn his tongue," Will remarked, remembering her previous encounter.

"How does that water burn you tongue?" Al asked. Then she pointed to the Crystal Bottle. "What is the point of those things anyway? Can't we just use a regular bottle?"

"I'm afraid not," Zeldaborne said. "The Spring Water will melt through other bottles."

"Alrighty then." Al slipped the bottle into the backpack and then raced out the door.

The girls backtracked to where they had separated from Jack. The followed the path and arrived at the gate leading to the Mayor's house. As they walked in, they noticed the keys had already been used, so the knew Jack was already inside. Al looked down and scowled. "Really? The keys make up his face?!"

"HEEELP!"

"What was that?" Al jumped, looking around.

"Look! Up there!" Will pointed with her wing towards the top of the Mayor's house. There, dangling about two-thirds from the top in a cage was the Mayor. "Looks like Jack hasn't gotten to him yet."

"I can see why. Look!" Al pointed to the level just below where the Mayor hung, Jack was fighting off a hoard of skeletal zombies with clubs. Some of them were even Fire Skeletons.

"Jack needs our help," Will said. "Al, you head up there and give Jack a hand. I'll fly up and see if I can free the Mayor."

"Seriously?" Al started. "Why do I have to do all the running around here?!"

"Uh, Al? Why don't you just fly up there, and help Jack?"

"Yeah totally, because I have wings," Al snapped, flailing her arms.

Will rolled her eyes and flew down so she was eye level with her friend. "Ally, try tugging on the backpack straps."

Al did as Will said and suddenly she found herself hovering three feet off the ground. "Oh this is cool!"

"Yeah, didn't I tell ya? Helgamine and Zeldaborne told me they used real wings," Will explained. "When Jack and I were coming back from the Witch Shop with Igor's biscuit, I tugged on the straps when I felt the pack slipping. Next thing I knew, I was hovering. Just hold on tight, and the wings will do the rest."

Will flew off, leaving Al to experiment with the backpack. She gripped tightly to the straps, and the wings beat faster until they lifted her high into the air. Her heart beat from the rush and she couldn't contain her excitement. "I believe I can fly!" Al sang, as she got closer toward Jack. "I believe I can touch the sky!"

When she reached her destination, Jack was struggling against two zombie skeletons, and three Fire Skeletons. One of the flaming ones was coming up behind him, ready to bash in Jack's skull. Seeing a chance to catch it off guard, Al swooped in and kicked the fire skeleton's head clean off its neck.

Jack turned just as she land, weapons readied for attack. "All! What are you doing here?!"

"Saving your boney butt, that's what!" Al snapped back, whipping Bertha out and hacking at the skeletons. Jack didn't have time to press her for answers, as more skeletons appeared. Jack and Al made quick work off them, defeating off two or three at a time as they continued up the ramp.

Meanwhile, Will flew to the top of the cage, startling the Mayor. "Aaaah!"

"It's okay, Mayor, I'm gonna get you out of here," Will said, and began searching for the lock. When she found it, she began using her talons to pick the lock. She was about halfway with it when Jack and Will had arrived.

"Is that Will?" Jack asked when he saw a bat on top off the Mayor's cage.

"Uh yeah," Al said. "The witches were able to start the changing back process, but it's going to take some time before she's more human. Maybe if we had stuck together, you would be on the same page." Al mercilessly hacked a Fire Skeleton to pieces, finishing off the last of their opponents.

Jack felt a little guilty for sending the girls away, but he was glad they hadn't listened to him. Once they beat Oogie's minions, Jack turned to address the Mayor. "Mayor, are you okay?"

The Mayor turned and his face switched to unpleasant. "Jack! Oh, you don't know how happy I am to see your skull. I thought I'd be stuck up here forever!"

"Hey!" Will continued to work at the lock until she heard a click. "Got it!" Unfortunately, once the door opened, the only means of escape was a long drop to the ground. Will cringed. "Bad news, people. Unless the Mayor can suddenly sprout wings, this is gonna take a one-shot aim to keep him from being street pizza."

"Here, use the backpack," Al offered, holding out the bag.

"Al, just how are you planning on getting that to the Mayor?" Jack asked. "If you try tossing it to him, he could miss and it will fall to the ground."

"Got any better ideas?" Will asked, hanging upside-down fro the bottom of the cage.

Al sighed. "I'll just go get him…" She slipped the pack back on, and tugged on the straps and flew up to the cage. "Hang on a moment."

"Are you sure this is safe?" he asked, hesitantly looking down.

Al rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't safe, Mayor, I wouldn't wear this."

"She's has a point," Will added, though she was hidden from view." Al does not like heights, so it's saying something when she voluntarily straps on something that can fly her high in the air."

The Mayor finally consented and allowed Al to help him down. She had him turn around, so she could pick him up under his arms. She struggled at first, but she managed to lift him up and carry him to safety. _No wonder I hate this guy. Annoying as hell and fatter than a whale_, she thought as she set him down.

"Oh, thank goodness," the Mayor sighed. His head changed to his happy face, though his tone suggested he was more annoyed than happy. "Jack, I'm so glad to have you back! Oogie has no idea how to run a proper Halloween."

"Mayor, we have bigger problems than Halloween right now." Jack held up his hand when he saw the Mayor's face switch to worried. "The other holidays are in trouble. Oogie has kidnapped the Holiday Leaders, and hidden the doors to their worlds all over Halloween Town."

"And the Bug Sack wants to be called the Seven Holidays King. Lame right?" Al said, crossing her arms.

"Well, that is a problem." The Mayor was quiet for a moment, before he jumped in excitement. "You know, before I was placed in that awful cage, I think I heard one of Oogie's boys say they hid one of those doors around here."

"Do you know where the Holiday Door is hidden in the Residential Area?" Jack asked.

"I saw some of Oogie's goons up on my roof. I wouldn't be surprised if they had it with them," he answered.

Jack looked up at the roof. He knew this might get dangerous, depending on what might be awaiting them at the top. He turned back to the Mayor and said, "You'd better climb down from here and evacuate to someplace safe."

"Thank you, Jack. Good luck!" The Mayor wasted no time in hustling out of danger. Once he was gone, Jack turned back to Al. She was looking up at the roof, dreading how much higher they needed to go.

"The roof?" Al asked. She tightened her grip on the backpack straps. "I'm gonna need to call my therapist when this madness is over."

"Maybe you and Will should go with the Mayor," Jack said. "Who knows what's up there."

"Like hell!" Al all but screamed. "We are NEVER splitting up again, sir! We stick together, Jack."

"I'm not letting you two up there," Jack argued.

"Will you two quit it!" Will yelled. She flew down from the cage and landed in front of her friends. "Look Jack, Al and I just proved you need our help, so if you think we're leaving, forget it! We're going, end of discussion. Al, why don't you can carry Jack to the top. With both of us having wings, we can save time. That okay with everyone?"

Jack and Al were quiet, but they kept their eyes on Will. "Uh, Will?" Al asked.

"What is it?"

"Will, you changed," Jack pointed out.

They all looked at Will, and she gasped when she looked at herself. She had grown back to her normal height, but still retained somewhat of her bat form. Her wing talons had turned back to hands, but she still had webbing between her fingers connecting to her wings. Though she couldn't see it, Will still had bat ears and a nose, but otherwise she looked human. Her hair had even grown back.

"Huh, good thing my shirt sleeves have slits in them," Will noted, seeing the leathery extension sticking out from the sleeves. "Less cramped that way."

"Why were there slits again?" Al asked.

"I don't know." Will shrugged. "Its black with flames on the chest and sleeves. The slits just make it look cool, I guess."

"Will, shouldn't you be more concerned that you're still a bat?" Jack asked.

"Oddly no," she answered. "For now, I think it's a good thing. Might give us an advantage, but"—she quickly looked at Al—"no free rides."

"Dang it!" Al said, faking anger.

"Sorry, Ally, but I just don't think I can carry anybody. However…" Will walked over and reached for Al's weapons. "I wouldn't mind taking back my katanas. Thanks for holding on to 'em for me."

"Oh yeah. Here." Al handed them back to her. "They were poking my back anyway."

Jack watched the girls laugh as Will reattached her swords to her belt. Oddly he hadn't noticed Al had picked them up. Despite all that had happened, he really was glad to have them both back. "So girls, are you ready to go?"

The girls looked at each other with knowing smiles, then back to Jack. He flinched when he spotted the wicked gleam in their eyes.

"On one condition, Mr. Skellington," Will said. Jack waited as Will remained silent to build up tension. "You need to promise not to try and force us to go home again. Deal?"

Jack sighed. He really didn't want to agree to it, but he decided it was best not to argue. "Very well. On my word as the Pumpkin King, I promise."

"Alrighty then." Al tugged on the backpack straps and took off towards the roof. "Let's get this height thing done!"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** I thought it be fun to let our friend have her own chapter. Kind of a break from all the action. Also, the potion/spell the witches used was a combination of the Polyjuice Potion from _Harry Potter_, and a vampire transformation spell Cosmic found online.

**Snape:** I applaud your use of the Polyjuice Potion to reverse the curse set upon your characters.

**GodlyJewel:** Wait, why are you here? This is a _Nightmare Before Christmas_ fic, not _Harry Potter._

**CosmicHorse:** OMG it's Snape! *****spazzy fangirl moment*

**Snape:** Indeed.

**GodlyJewel:** Nice Spock impression, Sevy. So, you liked our Polyjuice Potion then, huh?

**Snape:** Your use of the Polyjuice Potion to reverse the curse set upon your characters was substantial. However, your measurements and ingredient proportions are entirely off. Should anyone attempt this potion with this concoction would surely kill them.

**GodlyJewel:** *****pout***** Killjoy…

**CosmicHorse:** He can be sometimes. Let's get that next chapter rolling.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: ****Fireworks**

(Sally's POV)

The sky darkened as I looked out from my window. All I could think about was Jack and the girls. I couldn't help but worry. I kept thinking about last year, when I had tried to free Mr. Claws from Oogie Boogie. Will had been a big help, but in the end, we were still no match for the Boogieman. Thanks to me, Will and Mr. Claws had almost lost their lives. If Jack hadn't shown up when he did, Mr. Claws and I would have been burned alive, and who knows what the fiend would have done to Will. Now the danger was higher than ever before. How could I not worry about my friends? How could I not worry whether Jack would be coming back…back to me?

I heard a small moan and turned around. Jewel was lying on the bed, the top half of her head wrapped in bandages. The operation had been a success, but Jewel needed plenty of rest. It had taken a long time, but Dr. Finkelstein managed to successfully remove all traces of Oogie's mind control from Jewel's brain. He was worried how Jewel would react once she woke up, so he asked me to watch over her and alert him if there was any change.

I hurried to her side and offered her the glass of water I had waiting for her. I helped her sit up so she could drink it, and then eased her back into bed. "How are you feeling, Jewel?"

"Sally?" She looked up at me with glassy blue eyes. Suddenly, she sprang to a sitting position. "Sally! Those monsters are going to control the Doctor! You need to–"

"Jewel, it's alright," I assured her. "Please, you need to rest." I eased her back into the bed.

Jewel groaned, holding one hand to her temple. "H-How long have I been out?" she asked.

"It's hard to say. Oogie Boogie manipulated your brain in order to control Dr. Finklestein. He spent the last few hours removing all contaminants. He asked me to alert him when you woke."

Jewel sighed. "Oh dear, my poor darling. But wait! Sally, has Jack come back?"

I didn't even try to hide the smile on my face. "Yes, he has. He and our friends, Will and Al, are out right now, putting a stop to Oogie's plans."

"Well, that's good to hear, but, Sally?" Jewel looked at me, very perplexed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out there with them?"

I bit my lip and turned from her. Yes, I wanted more than anything to be by Jack's side, but really, what could I do? As much as it pained me, it was better that I had stayed behind. I looked back and smiled at her. "Oh, I..I was needed here, and Jack asked me to stay here, where it's safe. Besides, I'd just be in the way."

"Oh, Sally, dear," Jewel said. She reached out and took my hand, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze. "I don't buy that. I can see Jack wanting you to be safe, but you could never be in anybody's way."

"Funny." I chuckled. "Jack said something like that before he left."

"See, that boy is crazy about you," Jewel added. "You are the most important person in his life. If something were to happen to you, my dear, he would never forgive himself."

I recalled how Jack had held me just before he left. He really didn't want to be apart from me. His tone was pleading when he asked me to stay behind, but there was an underlying of sadness. I knew he felt guilty for everything that happened, but what mattered was he came back to make things right. And once the danger passed, we could be together again. Jewel was right. There was no reason me to worry about not being useful to him. Right now he needed my support. I turned back and saw Jewel smiled at me, reflecting the happiness I felt myself. I was about to answer when a large explosion outside cut me off. I stumbled forward, almost falling on Jewel's bed.

"W-What was that?" she asked.

I took her hand in mine and gave it a reassuring pat. "I'm not sure. Perhaps Dr. Finkelstein is working on a new invention upstairs."

Jewel nodded and eased back into the bed. I sighed and went to the window. I looked out and noticed a large cloud of smoke coming from the Residential Area.

_Oh Jack, please be alright._

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

Will grabbed Jack with her talons and flew up after Al. They reached the top, and Will set Jack down before standing beside Al. She glared at her friend.

"What?" Will asked.

"No free rides you say? That looked pretty free to me," Al accused, crossing her arms over her chest.

Will sighed. "Only because you flew on ahead. Someone had to get him up here. Besides, he's a skeleton. Not exactly heavy."

While the girls talked, Jack walked foreword and suddenly stopped, smacking his palm over his forehead. Will and Al looked over and groaned when they spotted what, or better yet, _who_ Jack saw: Lock, Shock, and Barrel, all three piled into their mobile bathtub.

"Well, well, if it isn't the three little pranksters again." Jack placed his hands on his hips, and glared at them suspiciously. "You're not still working for Oogie, are you?"

Lock snickered and pulled off his mask. "We're not working. We're playing."

"And winning!" Shock added, pulling off her own mask.

Barrel followed his cohorts and pulled off his mask, snickering, "Another round, Jack?"

All three looked up and shouted, "As if you had a choice!"

"It's time you three learned all games must come to an end — especially this one!" Jack pointed at them, giving them one last warning. When they didn't back down, Jack tried to scare them.

But they just smiled and started taunting them. Lock turned and paddled his butt, while Shock taunted, "We'll beat you this time!"

"Oogie will take over!" Lock shouted.

"Oh no, he won't!" Jack said, his firsts balled tightly at his sides. He was having just about enough of all this nonsense, and thinking that Lock, Shock, and Barrel had been avoiding punishment for all their mischief for long enough.

"Finally!" Al said, seeing his reaction. "Lay into them for once!"

"Need any help? I've been a little out of practice with my swords," Will added, brandishing her blades.

"Not so fast." Shock held out her hand. "Not one more step, unless you want something bad to happen."

"Bad things happen all the time. I'm kinda used to shit going to hell in a hand basket," Al said emotionlessly.

"Oh, I think you'll back off once you see what we got," Shock said.

"We stopped by the Graveyard on our way here." Lock sneered.

"And picked up a little something," Barrel added.

At his words, Shock held up what looked like an antique bottle filled with smoke. She smiled menacingly and looked straight at Jack. At first Jack cocked his brow, unsure why Shock was holding a bottle. But as he looked closer, his sockets widened as he realized what was inside the bottle. Floating inside the bottle was his faithful ghostly dog, Zero. The poor pup looked out from his glass prison and whimpered. Will and Al heard the whimpering and gasped when they came to the same conclusion.

"You bastards!" Al shouted, getting more enraged.

"That's it!" Will charged the trio, Al not far behind her. But they made a mistake.

As soon as the girls were close enough, Shock signaled her cohorts. Barrel and Lock nodded, and then tossed a large pair of red and black dice. The dice exploded and the girls were caught in a net traps. They were thrown back against the wall, each one grunting from the impact.

"Okay, now you've made me mad" Al hissed.

"Damn, that hurt!" Will grit her teeth, wincing from the pain.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel just laughed themselves silly. As they girls struggled to free themselves. The trio laughed harder because the more they struggled, the tighter the ropes became. However, what they failed to notice was the rage building on Jack's face and the flames encompassing his fist. Will heard the crackling of the flames and looked up. Immediately she froze and her eyes widened. Al looked up when she noticed her friend paused, and her eyes widened in a mixture of impression and terror.

"Definitely do NOT want that mad at me," Al muttered.

"Nope. They're dead!" Will whispered back.

"Hey! What are you two whispering about?" Barrel demanded. It was then he noticed the enraged look on the Pumpkin King's face. He elbowed his comrades and pointed frantically at Jack. They stopped laughing and flinched when they looked where he was pointing.

But Shock shook her head and slipped her mask back on her face. "You idiots! We gotta job to do." She smacked both boys over their heads before looking back at Jack. "Besides, no way he can hit a moving target."

Shock flipped the switch and instantly the tub began to move. Seeing how fast they were going, Lock and Barrel slipped their masks on and began to taunt and blow raspberries. Barrel even used his slingshot to shoot stones at Jack's skull.

The Soul Robber suddenly began to glow bright red, and Jack had a hard look in his eye. His teeth were set on edge, and his fist was shaking from anger. "How dare you treat my friends so SHAMEFULLY!"

He charged the trio. As Jack slashed at their bathtub, there was a faint sound of music in the air.

"Oh dear powers no!" Al groaned. "Anything but another song!"

"Al, knock it off," Will scolded. "You're as bad as the Nostalgia Critic."

Al hissed, but despite her protests, it was unavoidable.

_ALL THREE  
__Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!  
__La, la, la, la, laa!  
__Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!  
__La, la, la, la, laa!_

_Hail to Mister Oogie!  
__Jack will never win!  
__When you find our booby traps  
__They will do you in!_

_SHOCK  
__First we brought the Master back  
__To take the town away from Jack!  
__We knew he'd fight to set things right  
__So we got bad guys who attack!_

_JACK  
__Stop! I've had enough of you!  
__Your punishment is overdue!  
__You've instigated chaos here  
__And turned this town onto its ear!_

_ALL THREE  
__Hail to Mister Oogie!  
__Put Jack to the test!  
__Keep him guessing all the time  
__Never let him rest!_

_BARREL  
__Then Mister Oogie Boogie Man_

_SHOCK  
__Can take the whole town over then!_

_LOCK  
__He'll be so pleased, I do declare!_

_ALL THREE  
__The whole world should beware!  
__Wheee!_

During the fighting, Jack would bash at the tub, while Barrel and Lock threw pumpkins and bear traps at him. Jack slashed at the tub many times, but he finally managed to knock all three kids out. One problem suddenly turned into three, as now Jack had to stop Lock, Shock, and Barrel all at once. At one point, Jack knocked Shock to the ground, the bottle slipping from her grasp. Seeing this, Will tried her best to shuffle over to it.

"What are you doing?" Al asked.

"Well," Will grunted. "If I can get the bottle and break it, Zero will be free and can chew through our ropes."

"Ooo, good plan," Al agreed.

Will managed her way over to the bottle, nearly getting caught in one of the fallen bear traps. She grabbed the bottle in her teeth and tried to smash it. However, the angle she was at didn't provide her with the force need to break the bottle.

She panted as she tried to think of another plan. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Ah man." she rolled to her side and snatched the bottle in her teeth again. This time she bit down hard and cracked the bottle with her teeth. She spit out the broken glass pieces as Zero flew out from his prison.

"Woohoo! Let's go Zero!" Al said happily.

Zero barked his thanks, and started licking Will's face. "Okay boy, okay. You're welcome. Now help me and Al out of these ropes."

"Arf! Arf!" While Zero went to work on the girls' ropes, Jack was finishing off Oogie's boys.

_LOCK  
__Now, that Oogie is the king  
__We get away with everything!  
__You cannot scold us for our pranks!  
__The new King Oogie, let's give thanks!_

_JACK  
__Don't be foolish! Think now  
__All this danger isn't fun and games!  
__When this tone is back to normal  
__Do you really want the blame?_

_ALL THREE  
__Hail to Mister Oogie!  
__This is so much fun!  
__We make mischief day and night  
__Our work is never done!_

_JACK  
__I've told you once, I've told you twice  
__To straighten out your act!  
__You'll never get away with this  
__And that, you brats, is fact!  
_

_I've had enough of this disgrace!  
__So take me to this hidden place!  
__Where my friends sit locked in a cage!  
__Or you will face my rage!_

_ALL THREE  
__Wheee! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…_

The fight was getting ridiculous. Lock and Shock would swing at Jack with a broom and a plunger, while Barrel shot rocks at him with a slingshot. And they just kept bouncing around. He barely managed any hits. At this point Jack had had enough. He stopped attacking. "Will, Al. Get back. NOW!"

Once freed of her binds, Al scooted back. "Listen to the scary Pumpkin King."

Zero finished removing Will's restraints. "Good boy, Zero. Now… Duck and cover!" She and Zero ran behind the trio's mobile tub, Al not far behind them.

Once they were safely out of the way, Jack focused on the trio. They kept laughing and taunting, unknowing the danger they were in. In an instant, Jack burst to flames, taking on the form of his Pumpkin King persona. His eyes, mouth, and fist blazed with fiery, red-hot flames. Jack focused all his power at his core, letting the energy build until there was nowhere else for it to go but out. Finally the light surrounding Jack caught their attention. All three of them stopped, but as they turned to see what was happening, it was too late. Jack released the pent up energy, resulting in a massive fire blast. Lock, Shock, and Barrel were knocked back from the blast, the flames singeing their clothes.

Al and Will ducked behind the tub before the blast could burn off their hair. Though they did have to jump back as the fire managed to heat the porcelain tub.

"Hot tub anyone?" Al asked, smacking herself in the face. "I'm done."

Will shook her head before peeking out. Jack had returned to normal, but Lock, Shock, and Barrel were knocked on their backs, each one groaning.

"Holy crap," she muttered. "Now I see why that's for show only."

"Hey, look what I found!" Al called. She reached into the tub, and pulled out a large door shaped like a giant red firecracker with five white stars on it. "Independence Day Door?"

"Good find." Will gave her a thumbs up.

Al smiled. Before she could comment, her phone went off, playing the hailing tune from _Star Trek_. She pulled it from the backpack and squealed. "Oh boy, Zack just texted me!"

"Al, not the time to be texting your boyfriend," Will berated.

"Then when will there be time? Besides, I haven't talked with him since this whole adventure started," Al replied, ignoring her and typed a reply. Will sighed, walked over to Al, and swiped the phone. "Give it back!"

"You can have it back _after_ we stop the Bug Sack," Will said slipping Al's phone into her pocket. "I'm sure Zack will understand."

"Can I at least let him know I'm busy?"

While Al tried to retrieve her phone, Jack walked over to the fallen trio, a deep frown on his face. They had finally regained consciousness, only to panic when they saw Jack. All three of them coward as he got closer. "Now it's time to really teach you three a lesson." He began creeping closer to them.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel slowly crept away, fear clear on their faces. Will and Al watched from the side, Al cheering Jack on. It was then Will noticed Shock peer over her shoulder with a small smirk, quickly looking back fearfully at Jack before he noticed.

"Who's first?" Jack asked, menacingly pointing to each one.

Will saw them all smile and her eyes went wide. "Jack, look out!" Zero barked out a warning as Will bolted to Jack's side.

"Jack!" The trio laughed, and together, said, "Trick or treat!" they sprang to their feet. Barrel tripped but Lock and Shock jumped, landing a spider shaped trigger. Will pushed Jack out of the way, but a large black hole opened up and she was swallowed inside.

"WILL!" Al and Jack cried.

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

I didn't know how far down this tunnel went, and I really wasn't looking forward to finding out. Then I looked up and remembered I still had my wings. I smacked my palm against my face. I held out my arms and used my wings like a parachute to create drag. I managed to slow my speed and, with a few quick arm thrusts, I was flying back up toward the top. As I got closer to the top, I noticed a familiar outcropping. I flew over and landed on the edge. As I caught my breath, I noticed a small passageway. I decided to explore. I walked down a ways before coming to a split road. Great! Now which way?

My left side suddenly started to warm up, and my nose began to twitch. I took a couple sniffs and the smell of brimstone, smoke, and… I took another sniff. Whew! Rotten eggs. Bleck! A bittersweet upside to having a bat's sense of smell; warn you of danger, but suffocates you with the bad odors. Well, I was definitely not going down the left tunnel that was for sure. So I decided to explore the right one.

I barely made it five feet in before something knocked me in the back of the head. I fell on my hands and knees, groaning in pain.

"You stupid idiot!" I heard someone yell. "You were supposed to knock her out!"

"Hey, don't blame me," another voice said. "It's Lock's fault."

Oh great, the Three Stooges again. Well, they weren't about to get me with that knock out trick like last time. I sprang to my feet and looked around. I couldn't see them, but I knew they were hiding somewhere. Well, if I couldn't see in the dark, maybe I could try something else. If I still had bat DNA in me, there might be a chance I could use echolocation. I opened my mouth and was surprised when I emitted a high-pitched sound. I listened and followed to where those three little brats were hiding. I sprang to the roof and crawled over so I was perched right above them. I looked down the tunnel and spotted a dimly lit room. There was a cage in the center of the room, but aside from that, I couldn't see much else. I watched them from the top, chuckling at their confusion.

"Hey! Where'd the bat freak go?" Barrel asked.

"How should I know?" Shock asked.

I got a devilish idea. I gripped the stone ceiling with my feet and swung so I hung upside down right above their heads.

"BOO!"

All three screamed and ran down the way. I couldn't stop laughing as I dropped down to the ground. "Oh man, that was classic."

I heard a small hissing noise. I looked down and saw a small ball that was leaking some kind of gas. My eyes widen and I covered my mouth and nose, but I had already gotten a whiff of the stink: miasma made of Deadly Nightshade. I struggled to stay on my feet, but I dropped to the floor and blacked out.

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

_A few minutes earlier…_

"Will? … WILL?!" Al screamed. She frantically rushed to where Will had been swallowed up, and dropped to her knees, pounding her fists into the stones.

Meanwhile, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were laughing at there little trick. "Ha ha ha ha! Looks like he really fell for that one!" they said in unison. But then they spotted Jack standing next to Al, Zero by his side.

"Oops, oh well," Shock said.

"At least we got one," Lock reasoned.

"But um…doesn't that mean Jack's still here?" Barrel asked. All three turned to see both Jack and Al staring at where Will had been swallowed up.

"You will all pay," Al said, quietly and slowly. She turned to face them, not even looking like she had moved. Her eyes were ablaze with rage and hurt. Her chainsaw started quietly but glowed an unearthly red. The three troublemakers froze in fear as she stood. "I warned you not to make me angry. Now, I'm ROYALLY PISSED OFF!"

They back away as Al reached for her chainsaw. She revved the engine and made sure the blade spun at the highest and hottest setting the flames could get. "You thought Jack was bad? HA! You haven't even dealt with me yet!"

"Gotta go!" All three ran to their bathtub and quickly made their getaway, but not before Al managed to take out a chuck of their tub.

"Get back here and face me mere mortals!" Al bellowed, her voice dropping an octave.

"Its no use, Al," Jack said. "They're gone."

"They always get away! I'm so tired of all their shit!" Al raged, making sure her threats were heard. "If I ever see them again, I swear on all that is holy that I will rip their hearts out with chopsticks, make them eat them through a straw, and then cut their heads out with a spoon!"

"Alice, listen to me." The use of her name got her attention. "I don't want to let those three get away either, but Will might be in danger. We've got to go after her."

"I suppose," Al said, flicking her chainsaw off. "That doesn't mean that they'll get away if I see them again."

Jack nodded, then he told Al to run to where Lock and Shock had activated the trapdoor. When Jack gave her the signal, she jumped on the switch and ran as fast as she could. Jack dropped down into the hole, followed by Zero, and then Al jumped in before the hole closed. It wasn't until the last second that Al realized she had just jumped into a black hole with no way of knowing how far the fall actually was. She couldn't help thinking, _Just jumped down a dark hole with no idea what's at the bottom? Great idea Al._ Both Jack and Al screamed as they continued to fall through a seemingly endless darkness.

Looking around, Jack managed to spot an outcropping with a large passageway. Before he dropped too far, Jack reached out and grabbed Al, then grappled onto a ledge with the Soul Robber. They dangled for a bit, but at least they were safe. Zero floated up beside them, making sure his master and his master's friend were okay.

"Whew, what a day this has been… Hmm…" Jack looked around, trying to get an idea of where they were. However, this was a part of Halloween Town he had never been in before. "What's this place?"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Ah, so happy my muse returned. Thanks Werejaguar, for the ideas to help get the ball rolling again.

**CosmicHorse:** I apologize for the graphic rage.

**GodlyJewel:** And that's why the rating changed for this fic for those who've already read the first couple of chapters.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: ****Trapped Like Rats**

(Will's POV)

I tried to open my eyes, but a shooting pain in my head kept them shut. That Deadly Nightshade really did a number on me. Oww! My head was seriously killing me. Now I know how the Doc felt after a bowl of Sally's soup. If I could, I would have smacked myself for not noticing one of those brats had dropped a Belladonna stink bomb. While my brain tried to process what had happened, I used my other senses to try to figure out where the heck I was. The room was quiet and I could smell stone, dirt, and rust. I couldn't taste anything so I hadn't been gagged. I tested my limbs and the pressure I felt on my wrists and ankles told me I had been bound, and my arms were dangling over my head.

Well, if I was tied up, that meant only one thing: I was back in Oogie's lair. I forced myself to crack open my eyes and have a look around. Well, I was definitely back in Oogie's cheesy casino themed lair, all right. Though looks like he did a little redecorating, but why was everything was on the ceiling?

"You've got to me kidding me! I'm upside down, again?!" I struggled around to see where I had been tied this time. Well, at least wherever I had been tied, it wasn't on the buzz saw again. I looked at my ankles to see they were chained together, and I was dangling from some sort of device on the ceiling. I followed the chain to an old fashioned lowering device. I looked down to see just what I was dangling over. I wish I hadn't.

About fifteen feet below me was a pit filled with large spiders and snakes of the poisonous variety. One flip of the switch, and I would be either killed by venom or eaten alive, if I didn't crack my skull from the fall first.

I needed to figure a way out of this mess before Oogie and his goons came back. Looking at my hands I noticed I still hadn't changed back. Perfect! All I had to do was pull myself up and I might be able to pick the lock with one of my talons. It was a long shot, but I didn't see any other portion. Bat fangs can't bite through chains. I tried pulling myself up so I could grab the chain attached to my ankles. I was just about there when…

_Dibidi ba didi  
__Dou dou  
__Dibidi ba didi dou dou  
__Didi didldildidldidl  
__Houdihoudi dey dou_

I freaked out from the sudden ringtone and I fell back, causing myself to swing back and forth over the pit. When I slowed down, I looked up to see Al's phone sticking out of my pocket. I had almost forgotten it was there. I swung my hands up and grabbed the phone before it fell out of my pocket. I looked at the screen and saw two missed texts from a Sweet Potato. Guess Zack got worried after Al didn't reply back.

_Dibidi ba didi  
__Dou dou  
__Dibidi ba didi dou dou  
__Didi didldildidldidl  
__Houdihoudi dey dou_

The ringer went off again and I hit the answer button.

"Hello?"

_Hey guys…_ It was Kat again, only this time she was using FaceTime. From what I could see in the background she was laying poolside on the beach, although it was hard to tell because there were so many people. It looked like they were having some kind of party that had gotten out of control.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked. I took a closer look and noticed she was leaning up against something. "Is… Is that a xylophone in the background?"

_Ha ha ha!_ She laughed and took a sip of her drink._ What's a xylophone? Heh heh, xylophone…_

Something was off. Kat didn't sound like her usual self. I quickly looked at her: her eyes seemed glassy and unfocused, and her speech was slurred. Then it hit me. "Kat, have you been drinking mimosa?" I asked, though I already guessed the answer.

Kat squinted at the screen and brought the camera so close to her face that all I could see was her dilated pupils. _I mush be drunk, cuz you look…_ She paused as she hiccuped. _You look like a upside down rat… And what's a mono-sin-pafa…? Oooooo! Sandwich… _She dropped her phone to follow a waiter with a tray over to the bar.

"Kat, your phone!" I yelled. Then I took a quick look around because I might have alerted someone I was awake. Seeing I was in the clear, I went to picking the lock while I watched the screen for Kat. She ran back and picked up her phone, and then raced back to the bar. She sat down and was laughing hysterically, waving her phone in one hand and her drink in another. She started into the sandwich tray.

_Why have you summoned the Sand Witch? I was making a sandwich,_ Kat said in an old woman's voice. She was spouting out lines from a play Al wrote in high school, and stuffing sandwiches in her mouth.

I rolled my eyes. "Kat, don't go Brunhilda on me. Focus! Why did you call?"

She looked at me confused, like I was speaking another language._ Sheriously Will, what is a broom-hildo? _Kat brought the phone close to her mouth and very loudly whispered, "_Have you been drinking?"_

"No," I said, frustrated. "Actually, I'm just, you know, dangling over a pit of snakes and spiders, and Al's going out of her mind trying to figure out where the heck I am. Meanwhile you're out getting wasted on the beach. So yeah, I'm doing just peachy." I cut the sarcasm when I saw her face become sad all of a sudden.

Kat whimpered._ Well, excuse me for trying to be a good, no! GREAT friend, and call my homies while I on vacation! No Dairy for you!_

I looked at her, puzzled. "Do you mean like ice cream and cheese, or that Darin dude you've been trying to set me up on a blind date with?" I asked.

_Whose ice cream? You cut off!_ Kat asked, gesturing to her neck. This was getting me nowhere, and my neck was straining from trying to pick the lock and look at the phone screen. And it didn't help when Kat started laughing, thinking I was playing a game.

A Mexican waiter came over and gave her another drink. As he walked away, Kat grabbed onto the back of his shirt, and pulled him close to her. _HEY WILL!_ She yelled loud enough to cause the waiter to wince. _Guess you this is! THIS IS JORJE!_ Kat turned back to the waiter and asked,_ You name is Jorje, right?_

_Sí_, he replied.

Kat laughed, then turned back to me, shouting, _AND WE ARE GETTING MARRIED! Wait, no… He's getting married. I'm not getting married. Wait... Will? Am I getting married?_

If I could have slapped my forehead, I would have. "Katerina Anacleta Zamora De Los Apostoles Covadonga Contreras Rosa Maria! Get yourself some coffee and sober up. Normally I'd love chatting with you, but not while I'm dangling in a Death Trap!" I hissed. Honestly, I had no time to deal with Drunk Kat, no matter how fun she was.

_We don't has coffee here_, Kat said, smiling smugly._ We have TEQUILA! Woooohooo! _The crowd around her screamed as she downed a shot, and the music began to get louder.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down," I hissed. I looked down and saw the snakes were trying to jump at me. I could almost see the venom dripping off their fangs. I looked around and sighed when no one came.

When I looked back at Kat, she had a frown on her face. _For being in bed, you sure are grumpy_, she said in a sour tone.

"I'm NOT in bed! I'm… You know what, just-just take a look!" I maneuvered to phone to give her a clear view of the seven foot-long snakes and three-foot tall spiders. "Does this look like my bed to you?!"

I was glad the phone was away from my ears when I heard Kat's high-pitched scream. Even drunk, spiders were not her favorite creatures, so seeing giant spiders while she was intoxicated was the last thing she expected to see. I had to admit, it was kind of funny when I watched the screen fall to the floor. Kat must have thrown her phone again. When she calmed down, she picked up her phone and gave me the direst look she could muster up.

_Why the __#&$!__ are you over spidershh and shakes? Get down from there, you psychopath! _she practically screamed at me.

"I would if I could, but I can't," I informed her. "And keep your voice down, will ya? You want me to get caught?"

"Hey!"

"Aaaah!" I flinched and dropped the phone. It fell right into the pit and was instantly swarmed by the snakes and spiders. Great, Al was gonna kill me.

_SSSSSSPPIDDEEERRRRRR!_ Kat screamed from her end of the line. Guess she didn't end the call and now she getting an up close view inside the pit. _WILL this isn't funny!_ Kat yelled. _Remove the spider from my phone screen NOW! SHAKKE!_ _There's a snake in my phone. What the __#&$!__ are you trying to do to me Will? Are you trying to give me a heart attack!? In need a drink__–_

Her voice was cut off as a large snake swallowed Al's phone. Well, Zack wasn't gonna be getting a reply from Al anytime soon. I looked down to see who had entered the room, and, no surprise, it was Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

"You three realize you owe my friend a new phone," I said. "Unless one of you wants to jump into that snake's mouth and get it back."

"Quiet you!" Lock yelled. "We don't take orders from flying rats."

"Why don't you come up here and say that to my face." I chomped my teeth at him.

"You don't scare us!" Barrel yelled, though he was hiding behind Shock.

"So what's it gonna be, brats?" I asked. Not that I was really interested, but not like I had much else to do at the moment. "You gonna actually torture me, or you just gonna talk me to death like your boss did last time?"

"I know," Shock said. "Let's lower her down and whack her with sticks."

"Yeah! If we hit her hard enough, maybe candy will come out," Barrel suggested.

"Only one way to find out!" Lock grinned and ran to the lever.

He slowly pulled the switch and I was lowered down about six inches. "I am not a piñata!"

Before any of the little smart alecks could remark, there was an obnoxious laughing coming from somewhere behind me. Lock let go of the switch, halting my decent, and ran back to his cohorts. I peered behind my shoulder and, just like that, Oogie Boogie appeared, tossing his red dice in his hands.

"Oh joy," I groaned. "Look what the cat hacked up. A maggot infested snot rag."

"You three," Oogie yelled at the trio. "Get back to work." They nodded before scurrying about the room. Lock and Barrel were putting together some nasty looking traps for pranks, while Shock was looking over at a large monitor. She pressed the button and the screen shifted to different scenes all over Halloween Town. It reminded be of when the Joker had Gotham under video surveillance in "Harlequinade." Oh great, now Al had me referencing Batman.

Once his little goons were busy, Oogie focused on me. "You must've enjoyed your punishment last time to come back for more."

"Funny, cause I remember Jack kicking your sorry sack into a vat of acid, and Santa crushing you under his boot like the wormy little insect you really are."

Oogie growled at me and clenched his dice tight in his fist. "Looks like you still got a mouth on you. Perhaps I need to show you how to talk to the King of Seven Holidays."

I laughed. "Pft! Yeah right! You, king? Please. You're a joke."

"Hey, watch it!" Lock yelled.

"You don't want to make it worse for yourself," Shock warned.

Barrel laughed and added, "Once you're on his list, you better be ready to face you're worst nightmares."

"No one can hide from the Boogieman!" they cried in unison.

I swear there was a touch a vanity in Oogie's eyes. I need to fix that. "Didn't anyone tell you, Oogie? No one fears the Boogieman anymore. I mean, what's there to be scared of a moldy burlap sack infested with bugs? People prefer a human-like character with glossy black hair and silver-gold eyes who's got a thing for horses."

"Ha! That's what you think, little girl," Oogie sneered. I could definitely tell he didn't like his title being compared to a Brony, but I think I'll let him take that up with DreamWorks Studios. "Once I take out Sandy, I'll have the whole world screaming in fear."

I yawned, making Oogie snarl at me. "Hmm? What? Oh, I'm sorry, I was falling asleep. Why do the villains always monologue? Is it an ego thing, or you just like hearing yourself talk?"

"Why you little_–"_

"Mr. Oogie!" Shock shouted, interrupting him.

"WHAT!" he growled at her.

Shock shrunk back and pointed at Lock. "Uh… Lock left the trap door open and Jack's on his way here!"

"What?! You're the dummy who left it open!" he yelled. Lock punched her in the face, and the two went sprawling to the ground. Barrel laughed until he was pulled into the fray.

"SILENCE!" Oogie yelled. All three instantly stopped and looked up in fear. I watched him lumber over to the large monitor. I had to crane my neck, but I watched the screen as Jack jumped down into a large cavern. He looked around, then turned up and waved his hand. Next thing I knew there was a scream as Al came down and landed in Jack's arms. He set her down and she started fanning her hand in front of her face.

_Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again_ she panted. _… Remind me why we didn't take the other tunnel?_

_Zero smelled something dangerous in the other tunnel._ He began looking around. _What is this place?_ he asked.

_It looks like the inside of a volcano._

Jack looked around and a frown appeared on his face. _There's nowhere to go but straight ahead… This place is filled with Oogie's booby traps._ Jack leaned over the edge to inspect the lava river below them. He kicked a stone into the river and watched as it burst into flame._ I don't think I care to fall into that lava!_

_I second the motion my good sir_, Al agreed. _I always hated heat…_ She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair tie, tying up her hair in a high ponytail.

"You think your little Magma Maze will stop them?" I asked Oogie. "Ha! Jack beat you twice before, and Al will chopped you in half before you have a chance to crack one of your lame puns."

"Let's just see how well your friends do, shall we?" Oogie laughed in an obvious way before turning back to the monitor. He pressed a button to reveal the alarm from the Mayor's hearse. So that's where it went. Oogie cranked the alarm and laughed into the mic. "Ah ha ha ha ha! You're going to be torn to pieces, Jack! Do you really think you'll make it out of here alive!? It's so entertaining watching you run from my little traps down there. Oh, and I've got even scarier traps in store for you later! Ba ha ha ha ha!"

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

"I will so Bug Bomb you!" Al screamed.

"Al, I don't think he can hear you," Jack said, placing a boney hand on her shoulder.

"Well, he soon will be able to," Al snarled. "I'll carve him another ear just so he can hear me."

"You leave Oogie to me, but right now, we must focus on getting out of here, and finding Will." Jack removed his hand and took one step forward. "Hmm… It looks like we will have to maneuver through each of Oogie's traps before we can get to the other side. The problem is not getting lost on the way and ending up in bigger trouble."

"I hate mazes," Al said, rubbing her forehead. "What if every few feet, we leave a mark in the wall or the floor so if we see it, we know if we've gotten lost?"

"That would work if we had something to write with," Jack stated. Al smacked her forehead.

"Arf, arf!" Zero barked.

"That's it!" Jack exclaimed. "Zero can guide us through the maze, and warn us of any danger."

"That works to," Al agreed before smiling and gesturing forward. "Lead on Spectral Pup."

Zero barked and flew far enough for Jack and Al to still follow him. They raced after him, first stopping at a hand-shaped platform. Jack used the Soul Robber to grapple up to the next level, while Al used Will's backpack to fly up. After that, they raced along the short path, before grappling and flying to the next spot where Zero waited for them that led to a moving platform.

"So glad Will got these wings attached," Al said, smiling.

The platform was sort of small so Jack told Al to fly close. She nodded and Jack stepped onto the platform while Al and Zero followed after him. The platform came to a stop. Jack stepped off and was about to follow Zero, but Al flew to a different platform.

"Al, what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Woohoo!" Al said, holding up her prize. "Crystal Skull baby!" She packed it into the pack next to Frank, and flew back to Jack's side. Together they ran down the path where Jack had to grapple over to another moving platform. He landed on it, this time Al joining him, but he pushed her to the side before one of three giant saws could cut her. When they cleared the saws, they stepped back to the center of the platform.

"Thanks for the save," Al said.

"No problem," Jack said.

They made it to the other side and took off down a rock pathway. Before they went any farther, Zero barked at them from where the saw blades were. Al groaned when she realized they were going the wrong way. She followed as Jack grappled up to where Zero waited for them. He then flew through the saws and over to the opposite side of the wall, barking for them to follow.

"This does not look like fun…" Al groaned.

"It will be fine, just stay behind me and move when I move," Jack instructed. Al nodded and stayed close behind Jack. He counted to three before moving. They dodged the one saw and waited for until they could move through the next. Jack then grappled them both over to where Zero waited for them.

"Still not fun. Just how much farther do we–" Al was cut off as a spiked ball hit her in the arm. "Shit!"

Al grabbed her arm as Jack had her take a step back. They moved onto the next platform, avoiding the gargoyle that was launching skulls at them. While they rode to the next section of the maze, he slipped one of the Crystal Bottles from the backpack. He opened the top and poured a drop on Al's arm.

"That feel better?' he asked, slipping the bottle back into the pack.

"Yeah it does. It stings a little but it feels much better," Al said. The platform stopped and they walked into a dead end blocked by a large mechanical card with spinning swords.

"Damn!" Al cursed. "Not these bastards again!"

"Arf, arf!" Zero barked.

Jack turned to the right and pointed at Zero. "Look, Zero found a way out."

Zero flipped when his master spotted him, and he began wagging his tail vigorously to encourage Jack and Al to hurry over to him.

Jack waited for the swords to be sheathed, and then he grabbed Al and grappled over to their other side. Al started to run towards Zero when Jack grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back. She stumbled and looked up at the tall skeleton with a shocked look. Just as she was about to yell at him, Jack pointed toward the path in time for Al to see she had almost run into a flamethrower. She quietly gave Jack an apologetic look and waited for Jack to signal her it was safe to move. Once the flames died down, Jack and Al ran past the three flamethrowers to where Zero was waiting for them. He was hovering just outside an open passageway. The three of them ducked inside the chamber. The inside was dark expected for a few lit torches of blue and orange flames. The room was circular and there were several cells lining the walls.

"Not what I would call a very neat torture chamber.…" Al commented as she looked around.

"I don't think this is a torture chamber," Jack said. "Look at the symbols above the cages."

Al looked up and careful looked at the symbols. There was a broken heart, a wilted clover, a dead bird, a torn blue banner with white stars, and a squashed pumpkin. Al took a step over to one that looked like some deformed yellow monster with purple spots. "Are these… the holiday masters?"

Jack stopped in front the same cage and peered inside. He noticed a large black sack was moving around. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "It's locked. It looks like Lock, Shock, and Barrel have locked the Easter leader inside."

"That bastard…" Al looked up at the picture above the cell again. "This is sick."

"I agree, Oogie has gone too far." Jack said. He walked around the room until he stopped in front of the cell with a dying Christmas tree, and peered inside. He stepped back in shock. "No one's inside. Why didn't Boogie throw Sandy in here?"

"Maybe he hasn't gotten to St. Nick yet," Al suggested. She took a step forward, but stopped when she felt the ground start to tremble. "Uh, Jack…"

Both of them turned toward the center of the room in time to see a giant black and blue spider pop out of the ground. It roared and pounded the ground with its front legs. Zero whimpered and disappeared into the Christmas cell. Jack readied his Soul Robber, while Al readied her chainsaw with a shiver. "So much hate for spiders."

Al feigned right while Jack went to the left, aiming for the back end that would do the most damage to the spider. Bertha revved loudly, drawing the spider's attention and giving Jack a shot at the back end. The spider screamed and burrowed into the ground after seeping smaller spiders. Al's chainsaw made short work of the spiders before the larger one returned. Exchanging her chainsaw for her halberd, she charged toward the spider, slicing one of its forelegs. They repeated this round of attacks, attacking the larger spider and then hacking and slicing the smaller ones while the larger one recovered. After about the fifth hit, Al had had enough.

"Screw this!" She set Bertha back on her belt, and reached for her halberd. As she grabbed her weapon, Frank hopped free from the backpack. He looked around before hopping right up to the spider.

"Frank! No, it's not worth it!" Al screamed.

Frank didn't listen and jumped right onto the spiders face. It roared and tunneled into the ground. Al tried to dive after them, but the wave of spiders blocked her path. Jack tried to help her, but the girl's main focus was getting her slimy friend back. When the large spider came back up, it shook its head violently and tossed Frank against the wall. Al ran to his side and gasped when he didn't move.

Her knuckles turned white as she increased the grip on her halberd. "You hurt my Frank… YOU HURT MY FRANK! Just for that, Spider…" Al charged the spider, piercing the electric end of her halberd into the arachnid's leg. After shooting it with a bolt of energy, Al used the leverage from her halberd in the leg to pole-vault up to the back of the spider, drawing her chainsaw in the motion.

"Off with your head!" With a quick and violent down stroke, Al cut the head off. The body slumped to the ground and the head rolled out the door, falling into the lava river below.

Jack stared with his mouth wide open as Al sheathed her halberd, and jumped down from the spider's corpse. "Al…" Jack asked cautiously. "Are you going to be okay?"

She picked up the still Frank. "I… I don't know…"

There was a rusty, clinking sound coming from above. Jack and Al looked up to see a cage dropping down from the ceiling. Jack walked closer and peered closer at the cage. "This cell looks very familiar." He opened the door and peered back at Al over his shoulder. "You stay here with Frank," he said. "I'm going to see where this thing goes."

Al nodded and sat cross-legged. "Be careful Jack," she said softly. "Bring yourself and Will back… I can't lose anyone else."

He nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, Jack was hoisted up until Al could no longer see him. She didn't even wait thirty seconds before he returned. Jack stepped out of the cage, but to Al's disappointment, he stepped out alone. Al hung her head in disappointment.

"You won't believe this. I was just taken up to the Town Square, right in front of the Fountain," Jack told her.

She nodded, rather emotionlessly. "Now we have a way out, but what abut Will?"

"She must be in another part of the lair." Jack turned to Zero, who had come out of hiding. He started barking and dove back into the cell. Jack followed and tugged on the door, opening it with ease. "What's this? It looks like we can enter this cell."

"Ribbit…" A pitiful croak came from the slowly stirring Frank. Al looked up.

"Frank!" Al cried as the frog shook his head. "You're alright!"

"I'm glad to see your little amphibian is alright," Jack said. He started to enter the cell. "Come on, Zero wants us to follow him."

Cradling Frank in her arms, Al entered the cell, and together she and Jack followed Zero through the cell until they came out to another section of the Magma Maze. Jack looked around for Zero. He finally spotted his faithful pup barking up to them from below.

"Hmm, looks like we'll need to get down there," Jack said. He looked over at all the traps they would have to maneuver through and sighed. "Well, ready to go?"

"Yeah, that ain't happening." Al said, shaking her head. "I've got a better idea. You, take this." She put Frank into Jack's hands and then tugged on the backpack straps. She got about four feet off the ground, and then swung around until she was behind Jack. She picked him up and flew the three of them down to where Zero was waiting for them. Zero licked Jack's face and then turned to do the same to Al.

"Thanks Zero!" Al laughed.

"Arf!" Zero barked his appreciation. He looked down at Frank and gave an affectionate whine, nudging the poor frog gently with his nose. Frank gave him a weak croak in response. Zero barked, then began sniffing the air. He barked fervently and then took off down the dark corridor.

Jack began heading towards the corridor after Zero. "Come on! Zero's picked up Will's scent. If we hurry, we can get to her in no time."

"I am sick of running!" Al all but screamed. "I'm done!" An idea entered her mind and she glanced down at Frank. "Hey Frank, wanna be my little experiment?"

"Al, what are you doing?" Jack asked, puzzled to why she was now rooting through the backpack.

Instead of answering, Al pulled out her equestrian potion and poured it into her frog's mouth. Nothing happened for a moment, but suddenly there was a flash of green and dark grey smoke. Al dropped Frank and stumbled back. Jack caught her before she fell into the lava below. The smoke grew thicker, momentarily blocking Al and Jack's view. A loud hiss like whistle made Al blink rapidly and looked up.

"Oh that is so cool!" she said as the smoke cleared. Jack gasped and his jaw dropped.

Frank had been transformed into a strong, powerful colored horse-like creature, standing about 5' 2". His skin was glassy and colored a dark shade of green that almost looked black. His eyes glowed a dark emerald and large, sharp looking teeth protruded from his face. A long, thick mane and tail made of reeds draped his gaunt neck in a cloak of ick. He hissed again, his long frog tongue still…well, long and frog like.

"Well… I wasn't expecting that," Jack said, not taking his eyes off Frank. "I'll ask you later where you come across a potion for a kelpie transformation, but right now, I'm more concerned with what you are going to do with it.

"Uh, duh! Now we got a ride!" Al said, rubbing Frank's face as the strange creature hummed in pleasure. She couldn't help but marvel how sooth the seal-like hide of the creature felt. Grabbing a hank of his reed mane, Al vaulted onto his slick, wet back. As she settled onto Frank's back, Al felt her hand stick to the adhesive skin of her kelpie. Al held out her free hand to Jack. "Come on Jack!"

**XXX**

(Will's POV)

I cheered as I watched Jack and Al disappear into the corridor. Oogie and his lackeys on the other hand, not so happy.

"Ha! Told you they'd beat your maze! Not to mention Al practically made mincemeat out of your little spider."

Oogie growled and threw his dice at the wall. I was close enough to the ground that I could see where the dice landed. I laughed when I saw they read Snake Eyes. I looked over to see Oogie taking his rage out on the trio. They cowered in the corner, while Oogie let out his steam.

"What are you still doing here?" he barked at them. "Get moving!"

Lock, Shock, and Barrel shrieked and ran out of the room, leaving my alone with Oogie Boogie. He turned and stared up at me with a sneering smile. If I could take a guess, I'd say he had more bugs in his teeth than Beetlejuice.

"Well well. Lets just see how much longer it will take before your friends' luck runs out," Oogie cackled.

I rolled my eyes. "Face it Oogie, you're gonna lose, just like you always do."

His face dropped but just as quickly turned sinister. "Let's see how well you can make jokes when my pets bite off that smart little mouth of yours." Oogie walked to the lever holding me over the pit and pulled the switch.

At the rate I was falling, I only had one shot at getting free. I started pumping back and forth until I was swinging over the pit. Each time my torso came up, I quickly tried the lock again. Once I heard it click, my smile grew. Just before I dropped into the pit, I swung as hard as I could and flipped over the pit. The lock snapped open and I went sprawling across the floor. I rolled until my spine hit the wall with a load thud. Oww! Gonna feel that in the morning. I pushed up with my hand and tried for the chain still around my ankles.

"Big mistake!"

I almost had the lock when suddenly Oogie grabbed the front of my shirt, and hoisted me in the air. Okay, not expecting this guy to be freakishly strong. My feet weren't even touching the ground, for crying out loud!

Oogie's eyes began to glow bright yellow and he stared me down. I gulped. "Now then," Oogie hissed, his snake tongue striking close enough to strike my eyes. He raised his other hand to reveal his red dice. "Let's play!"

**XXX**

**CosmicHorse:** Wow… How many Batman references are we up to now?

**GodlyJewel:** No idea. I lost count a couple chapters back.

**CosmicHorse:** Yeah, pretty much. It's so fun to reference. What was that scene we used? The one with Joker…

**GodlyJewel:** The one from "Harlequinade" episode, you know with that scene we love quoting. "But what about all our friends? Ivy and Two-Face, and Hat Guy, and Lizard Man, and Puppet-Head, and…"

**CosmicHorse:** "What about them?" and then Batsy says, "Don't forget your pets."

**GodlyJewel:** "The babies! We can't leave the babies!"

**CosmicHorse:** "I'll buy you a goldfish! Let's go!" Gosh, classic Joker and Harley.

**GodlyJewel:** One of my favorite villain pairings, and I usually don't have any of those. Well, you'll have to what for the next chapter to see what happens to Will. Hopefully Jack and Al will get to her in time… If a certain Ginger can get through yet another song.

**CosmicHorse:** *****hiss***** Singing!

**GodlyJewel:** I love how she's more concerned about there being another song then what happens next. lol


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Prisoners**

(Narrator's POV)

Zero continued leading them down the corridor, Frank's new form helping them speed after the spectral pup. Finally they came to the end of the path, Zero ducking inside the only opening. Not sure what they would face, Jack slid off Frank's back and walked inside. The room was dark, the only light coming from Zero's jack-o-lantern nose and Frank's glowing eyes. Jack summoned a fireball and used it to light the area for Al and himself. He got in about a few more steps when, suddenly, a spotlight appeared. Zero began to growl and Al could feel the tension spreading through Franks' body, while he pinned back his ears, bared his teeth, and stared to swish his tail.

As Al tried to ease her kelpie, Jack stepped forward to see what had triggered the sudden light. Just five feet ahead, standing under the spotlight was Oogie Boogie. He was posing with one hand on his hip and the other high in the air. Jack doused the fire and ran forward.

"Oogie!" he shouted. "Return the Holiday Leaders to their worlds!"

"I can assure you," Oogie smugly said, "the leader of every holiday is right where he should be — and you're looking at him!"

"Where are you holding Sandy?" Jack demanded.

"Jaaack." Oogie laughed. "Weren't you listening? I said I had a debt to repay old Sandy Claws — a debt I'm going to pay back in person! I don't want you causing any trouble while I'm on my little visit, so I've hidden the Christmas door behind something quite nasty. So in the meantime, let's say we have some fun. The Oogie Casino is now opened!"

Black lights flashed on, casting the lair in eerie purples and blues. The platform Oogie stood on reveal to be a large roulette wheel. The walls lining it were decorated with a variety of strange cards. Jack had no doubt they were concealing all sorts of hidden traps.

"Joy, more traps," Al said before leaning forward. "You can still jump like a boss, right?" she asked Frank. Frank nickered low in reply and Al smiled. She turned to Jack and said, "Jack, if you don't have a plan, I've got one cooking on how to avoid these traps."

"Oh, I don't think so, kid." Oogie stepped on a hidden switch, triggering several chains to drop from the ceiling. The chains wrapped around Frank's legs and with a quick jerk, he was flipped and hoisted up. The force from the jerk during the flip knocked Al free of Frank's adhesive hold on her. She landed hard on the ground while Frank whinnied and hissed as he tried to break apart his restraints.

Jack ran to Al's side and helped her up. She looked up to see her precious kelpie dangling from the ceiling, wrapped in chains. Al glared at Oogie, and a growl escaped her throat. "You bastard! If his legs are broken, so help me, you will wish I had used a Bug Bomb to end your miserable existence!"

"Tsk, tsk. So sorry, half pint," Oogie mocked apologized. "No minors allowed. Wouldn't want to end up like your little friend."

"I'm eighteen, stupid!" Al snapped back. "And what the hell have you done with Will?!" She made a grab for Bertha and pointed the blade in Oogie's direction.

Oogie didn't respond, but chuckled to himself, like it was some private joke.

"Where is she, Oogie?!" Jack demanded, beginning to lose his patience.

Oogie sneered and clapped his hands together. "You know what they say, Jack. 'Curiosity killed the cat.' Well, bat as the case may be." He laughed as something began to rise from the floor behind him.

Another spotlight appeared over the object, making Jack and Al gasp at what they saw. There was Will, bound to a chair by large black and white snakes with blood-red eyes. The chair she sat on was made of dark wood, but as Jack and Al looked closer, they discovered the chair had small, silver spikes covering the back, armrests, seat, leg-rests and footrest. The large snakes coiled tightly around Will's arms and torso, putting more pressure on Will so the spikes would penetrate her flesh even further. Her face was very pale and she was barley breathing. To make matters worse, there were red droplets falling from Will's fingertips.

Jack's fists balled tightly against his sides. From the look of her, Jack guessed Will had passed out from the pain, but as the snakes coiled tighter he could see her hands twitch as the spikes pressed deeper into her skin.

Al was speechless for a moment. "Bastard is too good of a name for you…you… YOU DERANGED BARBIE DOLL!"

She revved Bertha and charged, but Oogie quickly stepped on another hidden switch. A trapdoor opened and Al fell through. Her scream was cut off and out of the trapdoor came a seven foot tall Iron Maiden. If Al could have been heard, someone would've heard this:

"LET ME OUT, YOU OVER GROWN SACK OF FROG FEED! I SWEAR, OOGIE, IF JACK DOESN'T FINISH YOU, I'M FORCE FEEDING YOU A LIVE BUG ZAPPER!"

Sadly, all Jack and the others could hear was the sound of Al pounding her firsts against the thick iron, her screams sealed inside. Jack's anger flared as Oogie laughed uncontrollably at his captives suffering.

"Well, now the stakes have raised, my boy," Oogie declared. "Care to make a little wager?"

Jack did a double flip and landed inside the wheel. He glared up at Oogie, prepared for anything the Boogieman could throw at him.

Oogie glared back at Jack and crossed his arms over his chest. "What are we gambling for you ask? Nothing all that valuable — just your life! Cue the music!"

When music began to play, Jack had to balance himself as the roulette wheel began to spin. Nine fighting cards popped up from the floor, and Jack attacked them with the Soul Robber, while Oogie paraded around.

_OOGIE  
__Well, well, well!  
__Look what the bat dragged in!  
__Jack, you made it this far?  
__Oh, I'm really scared!_

_JACK  
__Oogie, I'm here to finish this  
__Once and for all!_

Far off, a low steady pounding could be heard inside the Iron Maiden. If anyone could peer inside, they would see Al had found an open spot to pound her head against. And if they could what she was saying, it would sound something like, "… These spikes don't look half bad right now…"

Meanwhile, Jack was carefully avoiding the spinning blades, and even managed to knock out four of the cards. Before he could take out the next one, the cards sunk into the ground and the roulette wheel began to descend as well. He looked around for whatever surprises were in store when the sound of gunfire made him dive to the ground. He looked up to see where the shots were coming from.

Not far off along the wall three one-armed bandits were firing at him. Last time he faced these he had used a saw to cut off their arms. But now these mechanical gunmen were slashed inside the wall. Jack carefully moved to the other side of the wheel to avoid getting shot. He needed a way to turn the table on his old foe. He peeked out from his hiding spot to look around for anyway to stop the gunmen.

Suddenly he got an idea. Jack transformed into his Pumpkin King persona, and dashed toward the gunmen, dodging bullets as he went, until he was directly in front of them. Summoning his Pumpkin Flame, Jack used a fire blast attack. The force of the blast pushed the gunmen back. They continued to fire, but now their bullets were pointed up and firing at Oogie. The Boogieman screamed as the bullets ran upon him from below. Unable to take it, he sent his bandits back and jumped back inside the wheel. Jack turned as the floor began to rise and the remaining fighting cards appeared.

_OOGIE  
__You're jokin'! You're jokin'!  
__I can't believe my ears!  
__You're jokin'! You gotta be!  
__Best laugh I've had in years!_

_JACK  
__I hope you did amuse yourself  
__With this, your little fling!  
__You'd better pay attention now  
__'Cause I'm the Pumpkin King!_

_OOGIE  
__You think you are winning  
__But that's a lot of noise!  
__Just to be a sport, dear Jack  
__I'll share my Oogie-toys!_

Jack finished off the final cards with the Soul Robber, leaving Oogie open for an attack. "Your plan is finished," he shouted.

"Not if I cheat a little." Oogie began to chuckle and tossed some white dice to the floor. Jack had only looked at them for about a few seconds before they began to glow red and exploded, throwing him back.

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

___JACK_  
_Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__Ohhh!_

___JACK  
__Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

___JACK  
__Ohhh!_

_OOGIE  
__I'm the Oogie Boogie Man_

While his master fought off the conniving Boogieman, Zero flew over to check on his friends. First, he tried to help Frank, but the poor kelpie had gotten himself hopelessly tangled into his chains. He would need the others to get him free.

Next, Zero tried to figure out a way to free Al from the Iron Maiden. However, this was the very same one Zero had hid Sally and Sandy Claws in the last time Oogie and Jack fought. That meant there was a secret switch hidden among the spikes to open it from the inside. All Zero had to do was use his intangibility to get inside and show Al which spike released the trigger. The problem was, the moment Zero's nose touched the metal door, he was violently pushed back. The poor pup had forgotten one tiny thing: iron repels ghosts. There was no way he could get inside and show Al the way out. Luckily, the torture device was too wide to impale the girl with its deadly spikes, though she must have little room to maneuver around in.

That left Will. Zero quickly flew over to her side. The snakes hissed as he approached, but Zero growled back, completely unafraid. He noticed Will begin to stir and that made his sheet wag. He started barking as loud as he could, hoping he could somehow wake her up. He barked louder, getting a positive response when he noticed her eyes begin to flutter.

Seeing their prey beginning to stir, the snakes twisted around and lunged at Zero. They snapped their jaws and bared their teeth, allowing translucent yellow venom to drip down their fangs. The drops that fell on Will's arms seemed to almost burn the skin, sliding down into the open wounds under her arms. The pain caused Will's breathing to become more rapid, and she was pushed further against the spikes as the snakes tightened their coils. Zero knew if he didn't get those snakes off her soon, Will could be in real danger, but he also had to be careful. One wrong move, and those poisonous reptiles would dig their fangs into Will's flesh and kill her in mere seconds.

Thinking over his options, Zero suddenly had a brilliant idea. He barked to keep the snakes' focus on him, then flew behind the chair where their tails clasped around Will's torso. He took one look at where the tails connected and bite down hard. Zero then looked up and saw the two snakes' heads coming at him from opposite sides of the chair. They hissed in annoyance and lunged, but Zero had the advantage. Instead of biting skin, the snakes went through Zero's body and bit each other's tails. The venom quickly spread through their bodies, causing them both to hemorrhage and fall to the ground.

Pleased, Zero went to try to wake Will. He whined and licked her face, trying desperately to get her to open her eyes. Her eyes fluttered and Zero barked when he saw two dark blue eyes look at him. As she tried to focus her cloudy vision, Will looked through Zero's ghostly form to see Jack dodge several of Oogie's exploding dice.

_JACK  
__The leaders of the holidays  
__Must right now be set free!  
__Release them all at once  
__Or you'll have to deal with me!_

_OOGIE  
__You beat my men, so what? Big deal!  
__You even ran the maze!  
__You still can't stop me!  
__I'm the King of Seven Holidays!_

"Just give up, Oogie," Jack yelled, staggering back to his feet.

"Please! My seams!" Oogie laughed and threw another couple of dice, and then, as if Jack didn't have enough trouble, Oogie began sucking in air, creating a powerful vacuum that pulled Jack closer to the dice. Jack used the Soul Robber to keep from being sucked either into one of the dice as it exploded, or from being impaled by the spikes that surrounded Oogie's platform.

"Jack!" Jack looked up and gasped when he saw it was Will calling out to him. "U-Use th-the…dice," she said, barley making her words coherent. She was using one of the armrests to push herself up, causing her to gasp from the pain. "Y-You can throw…into h-his…mouth…" She tried to stand, but the loss of blood caused her to fall to her knees. Zero stayed quickly went to her side, nudging the side of her face.

Oogie turned and laughed when he saw Will crumble to the ground. "You lose, Jack!"

But Jack had heard what Will had said.

_OOGIE  
__Ohhh!_

_JACK  
__Whoa oh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

_JACK  
__Whoa oh!_

_OOGIE  
__Whoa oh!_

_JACK  
__Whoa oh!  
__I'm the only Pumpkin King!_

As Oogie opened his mouth again, Jack quickly grabbed two dice and threw them in front of him. The vacuum sucked the dice into Oogie's mouth and he swallowed them. Jack managed to throw in three more just as they turned red, before Oogie realized what his foe was doing. As his mouth closed, the dice exploded and Oogie was knocked to the ground. Immediately the roulette wheel stopped spinning, and all of Oogie's traps were unlocked. The chains recoiled and Frank fell from the ceiling, suffering only minor bruises due to his thick hide. The Iron Maiden opened and Al fell out, rolling a few feet.

There were some small scratches from the spikes, but other than a slight headache from her tumble, Al was fine. She grabbed the side of her head and waited for the stars to clear from her eyes. "Let's not do this again…" she said before shaking her head and seeing Will. "Will!"

She ran to her friend's side and picked up her torso, cradling her close. As she held her closer and checked for severe wounds, Al noticed that Will had returned to her human form. That was some relief, but she was still bleeding and there were nasty looking burns on her arms.

Suddenly, Will began to stir and she looked up through half lidded eyes. "… Al?" she rasped.

"Hey Willy girl," Al said, smiling. Zero barked and did a double flip in the air. Frank pranced up to Al's side and nicked loudly in delight, though it was slightly hissed and gravely.

Seeing his friends were alright, Jack focused his attention on Oogie. He had staggered to his hands and knees and was panting. "Huff… Huff… You've got some nerve escaping my perfect trap. Still, the real loser is you, Jack…" Oogie stood and looked right at Jack. "For he who has the last laugh wins!"

"Would you shut up already!?" Al demanded. Will looked up and tried to say something, but only managed to cough. "Easy, Will."

Jack turned and gasped as Oogie suddenly began to dissolve. "What's this?"

When he stood, it was revealed the Oogie that Jack had been fighting was nothing more than a shadow puppet. It glared at Jack with its sickly yellow eyes and laughed. "Congratulations, hero," the Shadow replied. "You've defeated my shadow. Neat trick, huh? The real me is in Christmas Town. Bye now!" The Shadow waved goodbye and exploded in a blinding light, causing everyone to cover their eyes.

When the light disappeared, Jack looked up to see that the Shadow Oogie was gone. The explosion had knocked the platform clean off and left a large gapping hole. However, something stuck out of what was left of the platform it had been standing on. He hoped over to the platform and discovered another Holiday Door sticking out from the center. He pulled it out to reveal the Easter Door.

"The Easter Door!?" he exclaimed. "But, where's the Christmas Door!? We'd better get back to the Plaza."

"What about Will?" Al asked.

"Oh!" Jack set the door down and ran to the girls. He dropped to his knees and looked over Will's injuries. "Hmm… Al, do you still have the Crystal Bottles from the Witch Shop?" he asked.

"Yeah," Al said, gesturing to the bag. "This backpack is tough. None of the nails made any holes." She swung the pack off one shoulder and undid the clasp. As she reached inside, Frank nosed around in it and pulled out one of the bottles with his tongue, while Al grabbed the other.

Jack took the bottle from Frank and turned to Al. "Now, I'll use this on Will. I want you to use the other bottle to treat any wounds you or Frank might have.

"Ten four, good buddy," Al said, passing Will to him, and took the extra bottle to attend to herself and Frank.

Jack propped Will up and began to pour water over her wounds. He started with the burns on the top of her arms, then he turned her arms over to tend to the multiple stab wounds. He would pour a little on each area, then set the bottle down to rub the healing water into her skin. The wounds disappeared the moment the water touched them. By the time he had her arms healed, Al had finished tending to Frank and herself. Jack decided to let her finish tending to Will's back and legs. Once Al had taken Will and the Crystal Bottle from him, Jack stood and retrieved the shrinking potion from the backpack. He walked back to where he had left the Easter Door. He poured one drop and waited as the door shrunk down. He picked up the door and walked back to the girls.

The water from the Crystal Bottle had taken care of Will's wounds, but she was still very weak. Al looked up with concern in her eyes. "Jack, what gives?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I think it only healed her surface wounds, but she did lose a lot of blood sitting in that chair. I also noticed burns on her arms from snake venom. I think some of it might have seeped into the wounds under her arm."

"None of that sounds good," Al said, her voice getting a little shrill.

Jack nodded. He thought about pouring some of the water into Will's mouth, but then he remembered how it had burned her tongue when she had tried to drink some earlier. Well, they didn't have much of a choice. He knelt beside Al and took the bottle from her hand. "Al, tip her head back and open her mouth," he instructed.

Al nodded and did as she was told. Then Jack carefully tipped the bottle as the green water spilled over Will's lips. After a few moments, Will immediately opened her eyes and sat up, coughing up some of the water. "What the hell!?" she said through a gag. "You trying to drown me, or burn off my vocal cords?"

"We're trying to wake you up, stupid." Al laughed, hugging her tightly. Will chuckled and embraced her back.

Jack smiled and placed a hand over her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Good to see you are all right," he said. "And I'm glad to see you're back to your old self, in more ways then one." But as he looked over her human form, Jack's smile dropped to a puzzled frown as he looked more closely at her. "Will, your eyes?"

"What about them?" she asked.

Al pulled back and looked to spot what Jack had seen. Her own eyes widen and her eyebrows rose. "Uh, Will. You're eyes…are blue… Like that sickly blue from _Avengers_ blue."

Will looked at her puzzled before grabbing the Crystal Bottle from Al's hand. From what she could see in the reflection on the clear glass, her eyes were normal except they were cerulean with a cobalt blue sclera. Will huffed. "Great. Now I look like a blue-eyed Cheza."

"Yeah, you do." Al laughed, prompting Will to join her.

Jack didn't understand the joke, but he was glad to see the girls were laughing. As much as he hated to spoil their fun, they had to get moving. "All right. We have the Easter Door, but we still need to find where Oogie hid the Christmas Door. Without it we can't get to Christmas Town."

"Can't we use Will's magical skeleton key to get to Christmas Town?" Al asked.

"Sorry but no dice." Will looked at them regrettably and sighed. "Before Oogie's Shadow tied me down to that Torture Chair, it stole my key. No telling what that creep will do with it."

"Damn it!" Al said rather frustrated. Frank nickered and nudged Al's shoulder, hoping to offer his mistress some comfort. Zero took the opportunity to nuzzle up to Will, offering the same comfort. Both girls smiled but they still held an air of despair.

"Look there's nothing we can do about it now," Jack said, trying to reassure the girls. "What's important is stopping Oogie from destroying Christmas."

Will looked up. "You have a point, Jack," she said. "You're already on Santa's list for nearly wrecking Christmas last year. Not gonna help if Oogie manages to ruin this year."

"Well, what are we waiting for people?" Al said, standing up and vaulting onto Frank's back.

Will staggered to her feet, but she managed to get up and have Al help her onto Frank's back. Seeing the girls were ready, Jack had Zero lead the way. They followed the ghost pup back to the center of the roulette wheel where Oogie's Shadow had caused the large explosion. Zero disappeared down the hole and Jack dropped down after him. Will and Al heard Jack land with a splash, meaning he had landed in water, but they had no idea how deep it was.

Feeling Frank tense, Will leaned over the side of the large kelpie and looked the beast in the eye. "This would be the right time to curb your murderous tendencies," she told him.

Frank snorted in irritation, but bobbed his head in agreement. The kelpie eyed the distance and took one step back before breaking into a quick canter gait. Gathering his limbs under his body, he leapt from the ground and plunged into the hole. "Best down bank ever!" Al yelled with a slightly maniacal laugh.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Is it wrong for me to say I kind of had fun writing the torture parts?

**CosmicHorse:** It's just a little morbid…

**GodlyJewel:** *****innocent laugh***** Just couldn't help going a little dark. Hope nobody was too freaked out. Hey, at least I didn't make it as bad. I could've put in some scary hell scenes, like say, from _Mama_.

**CosmicHorse:** You heathen! How **DARE** you bring up _that_ movie!

**GodlyJewel:** Yeah, should've known I'd get in trouble for bringing that up… Anyway, references used in this passage include: _Wolf's Rain_ and _Igor_.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Midnight Rendezvous**

(Jack's POV)

I followed Zero into the water, not really knowing where he was leading me. I hit the water fast and quickly sprang to the surface. The water was much deeper than I had anticipated. Suddenly I heard two screams and saw a large shape heading for me. I moved just as it hit the water. I looked around for any sign of the girls, but the water remained undisturbed. Now I was beginning to worry. The water was just over my shoulders, but I knew it went deeper. After I waited about five minutes, I decided to dive down when two heads burst through the water. I sighed in relief as I watched them cough up the water to take in big gulps of air. Beneath them another head emerged, showing only the ears, eyes, and nostrils of the beast they rode.

"I thought he wasn't going to do that?" Will shouted at her friend.

"I'm sorry," Al apologized. "It's in his nature."

"Nature my butt! He's supposed to be a frog until you spliced him with kelpie DNA!"

"Will, Al," I called out, making the girls look at me. "You girls all right?"

"We're fine," Will answered. "A little soggy, but we're still breathing." Frank rolled his eyes and snorted. "Quiet, you."

"Was it really that bad?" Al asked, looking down at Frank. "Okay…maybe it was. I'll work on it with him for the future swimming expeditions."

"How about we focus on getting out of here." Will looked over at me, and asked, "So, how exactly does jumping into an underground water main get us out of Oogie's lair?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "I followed Zero, but I think I know where this lets out."

"You think? Yeah, okay. Just a quick question." Will looked me in the eye, and I was a little surprised to see the annoyance reflected in her gaze. Then she asked, "Why didn't we just backtrack to where the Holiday Leaders are being stashed, and go out that cage leading to the Plaza?"

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that way out," Al commented before turning to Will and asking, "Hey, how'd you know about that?"

"Oogie has the whole town bugged," she explained. Al started laughing and Will smacked her palm over her face.

I shook my head. We didn't have time for this. It was only a hunch, but I was sure I knew where this water main would take us. My only concern was for the girls. "We need to get out of here before Oogie gets too far ahead. Will, Al. How long do you think you can hold your breath?" I asked.

"No more than a few minutes," Al said, giving Frank a relative stink eye.

"Same here," Will added. "Let's just hope you boys can swim fast before us air breathers loose it."

"Okay. On my count: 1…" Will and Al gripped tight to Frank. "…2…" They each took in a large breath of air. "…3!"

I ducked down into the water, hearing Frank submerge behind me. I quickly propelled myself through the water, moving as fast as I could to find the exit point. Once or twice I looked over my shoulder to check on the girls. I was amazed how quickly Frank moved through the water, using his webbed hooves to kick faster. I looked over at the girls and noticed many bubbles around them. They were loosing air fast. I looked ahead, pushing myself faster. We made it about a few more feet when I spotted it. It was a flat, rounded out wall, and I could see a stream of light coming from the surface. Yes! This is what I was hoping for. I never thought the Mayor's extravagant entrance for my role in the Halloween celebration last year would help me now. Now I was glad he had kept it installed. I moved to stand at the base of the opening and then turned back to Franks and the girls. I pointed to the opening, then I used my hands to explain that only one of us could go up at time. They each gave me a thumbs up.

I nodded and then turned to enter. I used my feet to find the platform I used last year. Once I found it, I braced my feet onto it, crossed my arms over my chest, and closed my eyes as I felt the water rush past me with the platform rising to the surface. The moment I broke through the waters surface, my ears with filled with the roar of applause. I opened my eyes to find several of the tone citizens gathered around me, cheering as I made my entrance. I couldn't resist, and I waved to everyone, smiling just like I had last year. I even took a small bow as they clapped and cheered louder.

As the platform began to retract, I snapped out of my daze and moved from the fountain to allow the others to come up. The moment I stepped down all my friends surrounded me. Each of them asked if I was all right, or if Oogie had been stopped yet. I tried to answer them, but before I could Will appeared out of the fountain, gasping as she tried to fill her lungs with air. I rushed over and helped her out of the fountain.

She coughed and then said, "I always wondered how you did that trick." I smiled.

I helped her out of the fountain and took a few steps back. Next, Al came out as Frank exploded out of the water. She coughed a bit, but hugged Frank's neck. "Gotta love this Kelpie," she said, breathing in the air. Frank bobbed his head and helped Al out of the fountain. Once she was on here feet, Frank pranced over to Will and I. That's when everyone crowded around us. I got separated as the crowds pulled Will and Al away.

The first person I talked to was Behemoth. "Behemoth how is the Pumpkin Patch?"

"Pumpkins," he answered. "Take time to grow back. I grow again. My job."

"I'm sure they'll be the best pumpkins you've ever grown." I patted his shoulder, and turned to see Will talking with Ethan.

"Looks like the whole town is here," she said.

"Everyone's come to cheer our Pumpkin King," Ethan answered. Then he turned to me and asked, "How about you take my quiz? It will spin your spine."

"Ethan." Will chuckled. "We need to stop Oogie first. Otherwise, I'd love to beat you again."

"I still don't know how you beat my last quiz, but I'll really stump you next time," he promised.

"Sure thing, squirt." She waved him off, and then pulled me aside to look for Al. As we searched Will asked, "Jack, any idea what we're gonna do about the Holiday Leaders? We did kinda leave them behind."

I could have smacked my skull right off with how hard my palm hit my forehead. How could I have forgotten about the Holiday Leaders!? They were still locked in cages down in Oogie's lair. I had to go back and free them, but there wasn't time to run back down there, free all the leaders, and return to Christmas Town in time to save Sandy. I didn't even know where Oogie had hidden the Christmas Door. What was I going to do? I couldn't be in two places at once. Then I had an idea. "Will, I'm going to look for the Mayor."

"Okay. Meanwhile, Al and I will keep the paparazzi at bay." She ran back into the crowd, giving me a chance to slip away to the Town Hall. As I walked, I noticed Al had stopped to talk to Clown.

He twirled on his unicycle. "After that ride, I've got a need for speed."

"I know the feeling." Al laughed, patting Frank's neck.

I chuckled to myself and entered the Town Hall. I was amazed by what I saw. Not a trace of Oogie's "redecorating" was seen anywhere. It looked as if everyone had pitched in to turn it back to the way it was. As I looked around, I spotted the Mayor up on the stage. I began to walk over to him when Doctor Finkelstein and Igor stopped me.

"Jack, my boy," Doctor Finklestein called out.

"Doctor, good to see you. How is Jewel doing?" I asked.

I couldn't help but notice the soft smile on the Doctor's face as he said, "Much better. I would be back at the lab, but the Mayor called everyone who was able to help restore the town. I was just finishing rewiring the lighting when I spotted you."

Taking another look around, I nodded in agreement. "The Town Hall was a disaster, but now it's looking pretty spiffy," I said. "You all did a wonderful job. I'm sorry, Doctor, but I must talk to the Mayor about an urgent matter." Excusing myself, I quickly raced up the stage to the Mayor. He smiled when he greeted me. "Jack!"

"Mayor, I have a favor to ask. Five Holiday Leaders are trapped in Oogie's hideout."

The shock made his head spin. "What!?"

"I have to follow Oogie to Christmas Town," I explained. "While I'm gone, I'd like you to kindly escort them to a safe place, and then return each of them to their own worlds."

"You want me to save the Holiday Leaders?"

"Exactly."

The Mayor's face spun until he was smiling ear-to-ear. He was positively enthralled I had asked him to do something so important. "You can count on me, Jack!" he exclaimed. "I won't let you down. But, uh… How do I get down there?"

"There's a way straight down to where the Leaders are being held. Go to the cage by the fountain, and take it all the way down. You'll be put directly in the center of where the Holiday Leaders are being held captive."

"Sounds simple enough. I'll get to it right away." He hoped off the stage and raced out the door. Now that I had that problem taken care of, I needed to get to the Hinterlands. As I raced down the aisle I heard Doctor Finklestein and Igor call out.

"Go get that Oogie," cheered the Doctor. "You're the only one who can do it. We're all counting on you, Jack!"

"Get that Oogie," Igor echoed. "He trick Igor."

I nodded to them and then went out the door. Once I was outside, I began looking for Will and Al. I searched through the crowds, but so far the human girls couldn't be spotted. I spotted Frank next to the fountain with the Undersea Gal, but Al was nowhere in sight. Finally I found them over by Helgamine and Zeldaborne. I ran over to them. "There you two are." All four turned and greeted me.

"Hey Jack," Will said. "We were just having a little chat. You talk to the Mayor about that thing?"

"Yes, it's taken care of," I told her. "Al, I'm surprised Frank isn't with you."

"Yea, I'll miss my Kelpie, but he'll always come when I call for him," Al said, holding up a small, green whistle from her neck."

"Carmen went head over gills when she saw him." Will laughed. "Actually, since Frank can't come home with us."

"Cesario will get jealous," Al interrupted.

Will rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we talked to Carmen, and she's agreed to take care of him."

"I'm more amazed that the potion had that kind of effect on the little toad," Helgamine stated. "I think Zelda and I will need to acquire some more. Imagine the kind of scares we'll bring up with a few more kelpies."

"Just as long as you keep them away from water," Will noted. "Wouldn't want to drown anyone by accident."

"Hmm, good point," Zeldaborne agreed.

"My apologies, ladies," I interrupted apologetically. "But we need to be on our way."

"The skeleton has a point. Besides, I got a score to settle with those three brats for swiping my key, and my dad's katanas," Will said, punching her fist into her open palm.

"Take care, Jack," Zeldaborne said.

"And take care of these girls," Helgamine added.

"More like we'll take care of him," Al laughed. "Come on Frank. Let's go kick some Buggy Buns." She rushed over to the fountain to retrieve her kelpie.

We said our goodbyes and then made our way to the Graveyard. Al managed to take Frank away from Carmen and they both soon joined us. As we walked, Will and told me some of the things they learned while I had spoken to the Mayor. Apparently, no one in town had seen any sign of Oogie, but I still kept my guard up. As we approached the Graveyard, I spotted the Hanging Tree over by the guillotine.

"Hey Hanging Tree!" Will called and ran over to him. "Nice to see you and the Hanged Men again."

Al and I soon caught up with them. "Stop running off Will," Al scolded. "The Hanging Men aren't going anywhere… No offense, guys."

"Not a problem," Hanging Tree said. Then he turned to me. "Jack! I'm so glad you're okay, and it's good to see you two are all right as well."

"And I'd like you to meet Frank, former toad turned Kelpie." Al patted the dark green equine's neck.

"Quite the fine steed. And Will," he turned to face her, "You look different."

Will chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, kinda gave myself bat eyes. I'd rather not go into it."

"It's a really long story," Al said, crossing her arms.

"I wish we could tell you more, Hanging Tree, but we're in a hurry," I said. "We need to stop Oogie before he does something terrible to Sandy."

"Jack, I should warn you," Hanging Tree said. "Oogie took the Spiral Hill road toward the Hinterlands. But his minions are swarming everywhere. They're guarding Spiral Hill gate. You'll probably need Zero to help find the gate key."

"Where did the ghost pup scamper off to?" Al asked.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since we got out of Oogie's lair?" Will said.

"I'll bet he's gone back to his grave," Hanging Tree suggested. "Go trounce those monsters and save us all."

"We will, Hanging Tree," I said. "And thanks."

"Like I said before, hordes of corpses roam the Graveyard at night," Hanging Tree warned. "Be careful." We thanked him and ran toward the Graveyard.

"Running once again… NOT!" Al muttered before vaulting onto Frank and trotting toward the graveyard. Will and I just shook our heads and continued toward the graveyard.

**XXX**

_Finklestein__'s lab…_

(Sally's POV)

I stirred the last ingredients in before ladling the cauldron's contents into the bowl. I then set the bowl on the tray and carried it up the ramp to my old room. Once there, I carefully balanced the tray and lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I smiled and walked into the room. It was good to see Jewel sitting up, but she still seemed exhausted. I walked to her side and set the tray on the bed. She smiled at me. "Sally, you really are a dear," Jewel complimented. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Mmm, is that Worm's Wart I smell?"

"I though you might be hungry," I said, taking the lid off the bowl. "The Doctor wanted me to add something to help with your headache, but I promise, it's Nightshade free." We both laughed.

"Honestly, that man worries too much. Speaking of which, Sally, where is the Doctor?" Jewel asked, taking a spoonful of the soup.

"The Mayor made an announcement while you were resting," I explained. "He asked that everyone who was able come to help clean up the mess Oogie made in the Town Hall. I offered to go, but Doctor Finklestein insisted that I stay and look after you. He left with Igor about half an hour ago. They should be back very soon."

"Well, that's good. I shudder to think about the damage that vile thing did." She took another bite, savoring the flavor. "Hmm, I wonder if anyone has heard anything about Jack yet?"

I sighed, prompting Jewel to set aside the rest of her soup. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I know you're worried, but I'm sure Jack is just fine." She took my hand in hers and panted the back.

"I know," I said. "And it's not your fault. I just can't stop worrying. I know Jack can handle this, and he has Will and Al to help him, but then again, those girls are human." I sighed and quickly shook my head. I needed to stop getting myself worked up. Jack knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't let any harm come to our friends. I just had to get my mind on something else.

"Well, how about we brighten up the room?" I suggested. "I was thinking about putting some flowers by your bedside. What do you think?"

"Oh, that sounds wonderfully horrible, but uh…do you think it wise to go out, Sally?" Jewel's voice was full of concern. "I mean, I know everything's been quiet, but not a word's been said on the whereabouts of Oogie or his monsters. They might be lurking around, just waiting for a chance to pounce. I know Jack would have a fit if you were taken again."

I gently squeezed her fingers before slipping my hand from her grasp. "Oh, I'll be fine," I assured her. "I'm just going to the Graveyard to pick some flowers. It shouldn't take long, and I'll stay close to Town."

"Well… All right, but be careful," Jewel warned. "And please don't stray too far."

"I won't, I promise." I stood up and walked out of the room. I made my way outside and walked over to the Graveyard entrance. I looked around and noticed everyone bustling about getting the town back in order. They all seemed cheerful. I wanted to help, but I had promised Jewel I would return soon. I slid though the bars and made my way over to the flower patch. There weren't many growing by the tombstone, no doubt a result of Oogie's monsters taking residence. I finally managed to find a nice patch of thistles. I gathered a nice bundle, and stood to make my way back when something caught the corner of my eye. Curled over one headstone were some black roses. They were so lovely, I just had to pick a few. I set down my thistles and kneeled in front of the roses. I reached out, carefully minding the thorns, and plucked one of the blooms.

The petals were a haunting shade of onyx. I gently touch one with the tips of my finger when, suddenly, the rose began to quiver. I stared in shock as the petals began to twist and take on a different shape. I suddenly saw Spiral Hill, and it slowly began to ice over. I could even feel the frost start to cover my hand. As I looked closer, I could see a bright light coming from the center of the hill. Suddenly, the image before me exploded in a flurry of fire and ice. I dropped the flower and scooted back before I was burnt. I could hardly breath and I felt a cold chill down my spine. This premonition was far worse then the one I had last year. Jack was headed for trouble, and I had to warn him, fast.

Despite my promise, I headed for Spiral Hill as fast as my legs could carry me. I stuck close to the shadows, keeping my eyes out for any of Oogie's minions. I just had to get to Spiral Hill and wait for Jack to come by. I only hoped I wasn't too late.

**XXX**

(Narrator's POV)

They ran to the Graveyard and spotted Zero hovering next to his grave. He barked when he saw his master approach, and circled around Jack's legs.

"There you are, Zero," Jack said. "I need your help to find the Spiral Hill gate key."

Zero barked happily before flying off into the night. "Great. I sense traps!" Al complained, watching as Zero flew towards the old tree again.

"Come on, Ally. It'll be fun," Will encouraged, and then took off after the pup. Jack and Al followed but they didn't get more than a few feet when three zombie skeletons and a Troll Skeleton ambushed them. Al charged Frank, and used her halberd like a lance to take out the zombie skeletons. Frank reared up and smashed the skull into dust before kicking his hind legs out and batting another away, while Jack took out the Troll Skeleton with his Soul Robber.

"Very nice my good sir. You would make a fine knight's horse," Al cheered, patting Frank on his neck. "This could actually be fun now. Hey, where's Will?"

"Over here." Jack and Al turned to see Will crawl out from behind a tombstone. "No swords, remember? Al, can I borrow Bertha till I get them back?"

"Yeah sure. Just be careful. She can be a beast," Al said, handing the chainsaw to Will.

Will took the chainsaw and readied to use it. Jack looked around where the monsters had risen from the ground. "That's strange. I could have sworn we'd taken care of these monsters."

"Hey, that's right. I thought you guys stopped the monsters from popping up when you went looking for Sally and I?" Will asked, turning to Jack.

"I thought so too. Hmm… I wonder…" Jack walked along the path, but suddenly stopped as he got closer to the wall lining the path. "Here's the problem. It seems someone knocked over the tombstones." Jack latched the Soul Robber onto the tombstone and pulled it back up.

Al groaned. "Not again."

"Maybe not. I don't think Lard Butt would waste his time raising all the of them, so it should only be the tombstones leading up to Spiral Hill that will need fixing," Will suggested. Then she looked up and pointed to a spot over the wall. "Hey! I think Zero found the key."

"Come on!" Jack called. They took off down the path, but when they got close to the old tree another horde of zombie skeletons rose from the ground. They growled and started to charge.

"Hey Al," Will called. "Wanna see who can whack the most zombies?"

"Oh, it is so on!" Al said with a sinister smile and a relatively insane laugh. Even Frank reared up on his hind legs and screamed loudly into the air. He landed and stomped his front legs in eager anticipation. "Steady son." Al rubbed his neck.

"Sweet. Jack, Al and I will take care of these ghouls," Will called out. "You get over to Zero and get the key."

Jack nodded and stayed back as the girls charged the zombie skeletons. Will revved the chainsaw, the blade bursting into bright red flames. She sliced through one skeleton's ribcage, and hacked of another's head. All the while, Al was having a more maniacal battle plan. She pressed her heels into Frank's sides and the Kelpie surged forward. His stride ate up the ground as he galloped into the fray. Al used her halberd at both ends, the blade slicing zombies and the electric side paralyzing them. Banking sharply, Frank rounded about and charged through the immobilized zombies, using his hooves, teeth and bulk to render them into piles of useless bones.

Once there was an opening, Jack ran right through and followed the sound of Zero's barking. He slashed at two zombies before he finally found his ghostly pup. Zero was circling over a grave marked "HEN BANE." Zero barked twice and circled Jack, showing his master what he had found. Jack got down on his knees and found just what he was looking for.

"There it is! Thanks, Zero." Jack patted Zero's head, and then bent down to pick up the key. He placed it in his pocket and turned back to his faithful hound. "Good boy. Now, think you can do me another favor?"

"Arf. Arf."

"Fly back to town, and help the Mayor get the Holiday Leaders to a safe place," Jack instructed. Zero gave Jack another bark before flying off to town.

_ROAR!_

"Jack, hit the dirt!"

Jack turned just in time to duck as a large club nearly connected with his skull. He turned to see Al and Will run at two Troll Skeletons. Will slashed at one with the flaming chainsaw, hacking through one of its thick femurs. Meanwhile, Al charged another Troll, wedging her halberd into the spine and using it to bounce off Frank, and land on the skeleton's shoulders.

Not wasting any time Jack quickly rushed in to help the girls. He created a mace with the Soul Robber and knocked off the head off the Troll Skeleton Will was attacking. Once the monster went down, he turned to help Al, only to find Al had dodged and ripped its head off with a sickening snap of the bone. The troll sagged to its knees before falling completely. Getting up, Al brushed herself off and jerked her halberd out of her fallen quarry.

"Not today, bit– Something shiny!" Slipping away from Frank's side, Al rushed over to a large gravestone that "DEADLY NIGHTSHADE" and dug through the plants. Jack was about to ask what she was looking for, she jumped up and held a dazzling Crystal Skull in her hand. "Woohoo!"

"Of course." Will sighed. "Well, let's get a move on people. We don't got all night. Al, make room, I call backseat."

With the girls riding Frank, Jack led the way back to the Old Graveyard. They crossed the old bridge and were about to cross through the flamethrowers, only to get attacked by two King Ghosts. Jack grabbed one with his Soul Robber and slammed it into the other one. Once they were gone, Jack turned to see Will and Al being attacked by vampire teddy bear. As they drew closer to the flamethrowers, Al got an idea. "Will…"

"Al, what are you–"

"Hang on!" Al said, running her hands up Frank's neck and crouched over his thick neck. Getting her idea, Frank half reared and galloped toward the flamethrowers. Gathering his legs under him, Frank shot off the ground and landed safely on the other side, prancing lightly at the end. "Oh, I like this… Hanna wouldn't stand a chance at the Evergreen Open." Al laughed

Will slowly released the death hold she had on her friend's waist, trying to get her heartbeat back to normal. "Al," she hissed. "Normally, I'd get you for pulling a Daredevil without a better warning, but I think we have other problems." Will pointed behind them to see the vampiric teddy burst through the flames, laughing and threatening them with its steel bear trap. And to make matters worse, three more ghosts and a Gumby appeared.

"Oh shit!" Al muttered.

Seeing his friends were in trouble, Jack quickly ran through the flames. Once he was through, he slashed at the ghosts, but they easily dodged his attacks. Meanwhile, Will and Al were being swarmed.

"I got an idea," Will said. "Al, think Frank could keep me balanced if I stood up?"

"Yeah, go for it," Al said, giving her a strange look.

"Okay, when you think it's safe, give me a sign," Will instructed. She moved around so that they were now back-to-back. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are," Al said and gave her the signal. Will quickly got to her feet. She swayed a little, but she managed to steady herself enough, and drew Bertha to her side. She waited until the Gumby got close, and then before it could snap its bear trap over her face, Will whipped out the chainsaw and sliced the demonic toys in half. The vapor teddy bear was next, but Will pivoted around before it could sneak up from behind. She lopped its head clean off before she sat back down.

"Nice execution!" Al laughed.

"Nice maneuvering." Will replaced the chainsaw in her lap and patted the side. "I'm beginning to see why you like this thing," she said, a devilish grin appearing on her lips.

"No, you can't keep her," Al said very seriously. They both started laughing.

Meanwhile, Jack had just managed to defeat all three ghosts as Frank came trotting up with the girls. Making sure there were no more enemies, Jack took the key from his pocket and opened the gate. The passed through and followed the path to a large open area that had a cage-like structure off to the side. Al started to lead Frank over to it, when Will pulled her back. "Bad idea."

"Why?" Al asked.

Will shut her eyes for a moment, before saying, "Another trap, this time I'd say about five or so King Skeletons. I recommended skipping that area."

Al nodded. "Good plan."

They continued down the path until they found themselves in a ditch at the base of Spiral Hill. Jack grappled up as Frank jumped. Jack took the lead and went down the path. Their way was filled with mace-launching gargoyles and head-tossing guillotines. Jack hacked away at each of them with his Soul Robber as Al carefully steered Frank through the projectiles, occasionally making both girls duck and swerve to avoid being hit. They came to a dead end and once again, Jack grappled while Frank jumped up to the next level. Finally, they reached their destination.

"All right," Jack said. "Once we cross over, we'll be put straight into the Hinterlands. You girls ready?"

"Game on, Bones" Al said, taking a bigger chunk of Frank's mane in her hands.

Jack smiled and then they began to race foreword when they were suddenly propelled backwards. Jack did a backwards flip, but managed to land on his feet, propping himself up with one hand. Will and Al were tossed to the ground as the force from the impact caused Frank to crash his head as his body took a violent jerk back, throwing his fronts legs under him, as his plowed into the ground.

Al yelped but instantly was more concerned about Frank. The kelpie whinnied lightly but clearly was in pain. Dropping to her knees, she eased Frank's large head in her lap and cradled him. She hurried and took off the backpack but her frantic searching seemed in vain. "Damn it! Why'd we have to forget to fill up on Fountain Water!?"

"With all our focus on stopping Oogie, I guess it never occurred to us," Jack said. He looked over the large creature and asked, "Is he badly injured?"

"He just ran into a wall, you idiot! Of course he's injured!" Al all but screamed at him.

"Wait a minute!" Will exclaimed. "Al, give me the backpack." Al did as she said and handed it to Will. Taking her pack, Will rifled through the contents until she pulled out one of the Crystal Skulls.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Here, Al, press this on Frank," Will instructed. "It should help heal him."

"This better work on broken bones…" Al muttered and carefully skimmed her hands over the kelpie. He hissed in pain near his cheek. Al dug through the backpack again and pulled out the other skull. She pressed the skulls onto the bulging wound and it instantly snapped back into place. She then proceeded to press the skull onto his other wounds, healing them as well. He swung his head around and motioned to a hind leg. Al pressed the skull to the hind leg, healing the other broken bone. Frank sighed and let the skull work it's magic. "What the hell happened anyway?"

"I have no idea," Jack said. He walked over to the base of the hill. He put his hand out, only to meet an unseen wall. "It appears to be some sort of barrier."

"No shit, Spock. Please, tell me more," Al said, touching her finger to her chin.

"I think I might know," Will said. She had moved from Al's side and approached an odd looking stone figure. "Hey Jack, was this demonic violinist statue here before?" she asked.

"What's this?" Jack walked over to it and examined it. "I've never seen this before, but I bet this is what's keeping us from crossing Spiral Hill."

"That hunk of stone hurt my baby Frank? Oh, hell no! Want to smash. Yes?" Al asked, continuing to press the skull against Frank.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jack said. "No, I think we need some kind of key." As Jack looked over the statue, he noticed four smaller headstones, each with a different image carved on it, surrounded it. "Hmm… There's a stone shaped like the Halloween Door. If I can get this device to work, Spiral Hill will stretch out."

Behind them, Al had firmly pressed her hand against her forehead with a loud _Smack!_

"Well, if you're sure." Will slung her backpack around and searched for the pocket containing the Holiday Doors. She held all the doors they had collected in the palm of her hand.

"Oh they are so cute…but not very door-ish," Al said in a relative baby voice.

"Just what I was thinking," Will agreed. "Seriously Jack, there's no way these doors will fit in this state."

Jack picked up the Halloween Door and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, only one way to find out." He placed the tiny door into the stone shaped like a pumpkin. Suddenly, the tiny door shook and grew back to its original size, filling the slot.

"Okay, I'm impressed." Will took the Valentine's Day Door and placed it into the heart-shaped stone. It did the same thing as the Halloween Door. Jack took the Thanksgiving Door and gave Will the Easter Door, each placing their doors into the correct slots. Once all the doors were in place, the stone statue began to move. The arms moved as if to play its violin and then moved as if it stood on top of a record player.

"We did it!" Jack exclaimed. "Come on. Now that Spiral Hill can stretch out, we can get to the other side."

"You go on ahead," Will said, slipping her backpack onto her shoulders. "I'll hang back with Al. Once Frank is back on his feet, we'll meet you over there."

"All right but hurry." He left the girls and began to make his way up the hill. As he made his way up, he suddenly stopped a third of the way as he spotted a lone figure standing a few feet in front of him. The silhouette against the moon was familiar, and as he stepped closer, he gasped when he saw who stood there.

"Sally. You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous."

The rag doll turned to face him, a forlorn look on her face. "I had to warn you," she told him. "Oogie's headed for the Hinterlands. I have a bad feeling more trouble is waiting for you down this path."

Jack smiled and shook his head. How just like his Sally. She was worried for him, even risking coming out when danger still lurked in the shadows. This was just like the year before, only this time he knew to trust Sally's visions. As he looked closer, he was brought back to the night he and Sally had confessed to each other. He could still hear her beautiful voice harmonizing with his own. That feeling from the night filled his bones as he walked toward Sally.

_JACK  
__You give me strength to show you care  
__I cannot fail with you so near  
__I know I'd be lost without you_

Not far off, Will and Al were watching the tender moment from where they sat. They were on pins and needles as they watched the two lovers draw close together under the full moonlight. It was as though all the danger had been forgotten.

"At least this song is good," Al whispered.

"Shh!" Will shushed before drawing her eyes back to the loving scene.

Atop the hill, Sally smiled as a light laugh escaped her lips. Only Jack could make her feel like this when everything seemed like it could go so wrong. The low tenor of Jack's voice swept her away and for a moment, all her doubts began to fade. She held out her hands to him, the words already forming as Jack drew closer.

_BOTH  
__We'll stand together, now and forever  
__And I tell you, this very troubled night  
__That we will set things right_

Jack reached the top of the hill, and took Sally's outstretched hands in his own. They gazed into each other's eyes, all time seeming to stop around them.

Their joined hands lowered, but instead of stepping closer, Sally drew back. She slipped her hands from his grasp and turned away from him. Her eyes closed as she lifted one hand over her heart. The images from her premonition frightened her. She had no idea what was to come, only that it put Jack and their friends in great danger. She wanted to tell Jack not to go, but he was the only one who could stop Oogie Boogie.

Jack was surprised when Sally drew back from him, but he understood why she did. He was about to rush off into danger and leave her behind to worry whether he would come back. He reached out and settled his right hand on her shoulder. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him. He smiled down at her. "It's okay, Sally," he promised. "Nothing's going to stop me from returning Halloween Town to how it was before."

"I know you will, Jack. It's just…" She paused, looking down at the ground. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "I almost lost you the last time. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

Jack instantly took his beloved in his arms, holding her close and tucking her head under his chin. Sally blushed as she felt the steady beat of his phantom heart. She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed closer to him. Removing one of his hands, Jack pulled back enough to slip his forefinger under Sally's chin and titled her face up to meet his gaze. His thumb brushed over her chin and bottom lip, earning a feathery light kiss to the tip. He leaned down until his forehead was touching hers. His hand moved from her chin to cup her cheek. Sally's eyes never left his gaze as she leaned up on tiptoe until her lips were a breath away before Jack closed the remaining space between them.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Okay, I hoped you all enjoyed the added fluff to that scene. Seriously, I don't care that it was a video game, the creators had NO FREAKING RIGHT to build up that much romantic fluff and have Jack just walk off. **NO! FAIL, SIR! EPIC FAIL!**

**CosmicHorse:** It wouldn't be so bad if he had kissed her before running off, but NOOOOOO! He just ran off and left poor Sally alone on the hill! My inner Hulk almost came out, haha.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Breadcrumbs on the Trail**

(Will's POV)

I sighed as Jack and Sally kissed under the moonlight. So romantic! I probably would have gone fangirl if not for a scaly nose nudging my side. I turned to see Frank lift his head, motioning he was well enough to stand. I smiled.

"Good to see you're better. Come on, Ally," I said, turning to my best friend, only to see that she had actually fallen into a light sleep astride the Kelpie. I rolled my eyes. "Earth to Al, come in Al."

"Huh…what? What's up?" Al said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "I almost caught the doughnut."

I chuckled. "Sorry, Sleeping Beauty, but we gotta go. Move your butt so Frank can get up."

Al rolled her eyes. "Frank, up," she said and Frank managed to get to his feet without her dismounting. "Bam!"

"Nice, now let me up." Al held out her hand and helped me onto the kelpie. Then, she nudged Frank's sides to get him moving forward.

As we walked past, Jack and Sally were still wrapped in each other's arms. Sheesh, you two need a room? I think Jack forgot for a moment that we had an evil boogieman to defeat, but that could easily be remedied. I turned around so I was riding backwards and waited until Al led Frank to the edge of the woods.

Al looked over her shoulder at me, and asked, "What the hell ya doing backwards, girly?"

Instead of answering, I kept my eyes on Spiral Hill. Once I saw the trees from the corner of my eye, I put my hands to my mouth and called out. "Hey Romeo, get a move on! You'll have plenty of time to woo Sally later."

Al fell forward laughing, burying her face in Frank's mossy mane. I really thought she was gonna start choking from how hard she was laughing, but that was nothing compared to how hard I was trying **not** to laugh.

You see, Al couldn't see the scene behind her. Thanks to my bat-eyes, I could see perfectly all the way to the top of Spiral Hill, like I was standing right there. Sally was burying her blush-stained face into Jack's chest, while he was frowning and giving me the biggest death glare. Though, it might have been more intimidating had he not been blanching whiter than new fallen snow. That made me laugh hard enough to almost fall over had I not been stuck to Frank's back.

"Details, NOW!" Al demanded, composing herself a little.

"Couldn't help myself. He's just so easy to tease, especially when he leaves himself open like that."

"This is true. Silly skeleton." Al laughed. Then she turned back around, so not to run Frank into a tree, when she suddenly froze. "Um… Something is very not right…" she said, taking in the eerie scenery. She even brought Frank to a halt.

I turned around to ask what she was talking about and gasped. The Hinterlands had been stripped of all color, leaving blackened trees, and a few gray leaves that turned to ash in the wind. It was as if the whole place had been set on fire, and then covered by the 1980 Mount St. Helens ash explosion. What made it even creepier was the thick blanket of fog surrounding the entire area. I could see maybe twenty, thirty trees but everything else was white. I felt a shiver go up my spine as some far off bird made this flight call-like sound. I heard a sloshing sound, and I looked down to see Frank was stomping his webbed hooves nervously. His ears swiveled around, trying to catch every sound as his nostrils flared, and his entire body became tense, ready to run at any given point. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to sense something was very, very wrong here.

Al gently stroked Frank's neck and spoke quiet, reassuring words to him. "Easy big boy. Nothing's gonna get you. I'm here and if nothing else, you're big and strong. You can take 'em, stud," she said. All the while she was stroking his neck, trying to get him to focus on her relatively calm aura.

"I don't know, I'm kinda agreeing with Frank," I said. "The creepiness factor is higher than usual. I keep thinking the Pale Man is gonna pop out somewhere." I shivered as the image of Guillermo del Toro's child-eating monster entered my mind.

"Do NOT even start with that!" Al warned, glaring at me at the mention.

"Maybe we should wait for Jack before going any further," I suggested, looking around for any potential surprises. "I'd rather not get lost in a forest of spooks and who-knows-what-else."

"Yeah, good plan," Al said, holding onto Frank's mane near his ears.

We waited for three minutes before Al really started to freak out. As the silence grew, Al began in inhale slowly and push the air out of her nose in a sigh. They grew more frequent and louder with each passing moment. She slid off Frank's back and started pacing, slowly at first then quicker. She bit her nails and ran her hands through her hair as she paced. Finally, she started snapping her fingers rapidly.

"Where is that bloody skeleton?" she whispered through clenched jaws. It all went down hill from there, and soon Al was on the ground in the fetal position making small screaming noises every so often.

I hopped off Frank and crouched down beside her, putting my hands on her shoulders to stop her shaking. "Al, please stop screaming!" I shouted. "You want the whole forest to hear there's two girls here, alone?"

That was a big mistake. If anything, instead of helping, Al screamed louder. "OH, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" she screamed, bolting up in a panic.

_Smack!_

Al stared at me wide-eyed as her left cheek started turning red. I lowered my hand. "Sorry."

"No…no…thanks," she said, rubbing her cheek lightly.

"Anytime." I stood up and held out my hand to help her up. "Now," I suggested, "why don't you stay next to Frank, and think of ways you're gonna get back at Jack for setting us in the middle of a horror movie scene."

"Oh, you are genius," Al said venously as she stalked back to Frank, but then she stopped. "The hell is that?!" And before I could stop her, Al started screaming bloody murder before drawing Bertha and revving the engine. She was still screaming as she charged.

"Al, wait!" I screamed but then I saw the figure: very tall and thin with unnaturally long arms, a white, featureless head and it appeared to be wearing a dark suit. For a moment I froze and felt my pulse start to race. Were Al and I actually looking at… Slender Man? I thought that thing was a myth!? But then I looked at the figure again and charged after Al. It was only a split second, but I before I got to her, Al's chainsaw was stopped by a familiar green ooze.

"Hey!" Both of us looked up as Jack appeared out of the fog. "It's me, Jack Skellington."

"Mary mother, Jack! What the hell!?" I shouted at him. I leaned down on my knees to catch my breath, and slow my pulse down.

Al went silent before clicking off Bertha. Balling a fist, she decked Jack in the chin. I was surprised she managed to reach his chin, but I couldn't blame her. Rule #57: never, and I mean **NEVER**, put Al in a horror movie situation. I learned that the hard way at one of our sleepovers. I made her watch a horror movie, and in the middle of the night she smacked my legs because she thought it was the ghost's head. I had a huge bruise the next morning. I'm just glad that I didn't have my head there, and that Al didn't sleep with a knife under her pillow. I looked up to see Jack reattaching his jaw as Al continued to scream at him.

"YOU DAMN WANKER!" Al shouted, raging mad. She looked about ready to pound him, so I stepped in.

"Easy there, Tigress," I said, getting between my raging best friend and the injured Pumpkin King. "Jack doesn't know about the rule. And, though he is the Master of Fright, he wasn't trying to scare you on purpose."

"I am sorry, Al," Jack apologized. "I was trying to find you both, but the fog is very thick."

"Oh, the fog," Al said very sarcastically. "Did you hear that Will? The damn fog held him up!" She rolled her eyes.

"Knock it off, Al. Even I can't see in this stuff." Al hissed. I stuck my tongue out at her, and then turned back to Jack, changing the topic. "So, how exactly do we get to the Holiday Trees, Jack?"

"There at the very center of the Hinterlands," Jack explained. "I suggest we stay together. I can only image what kind of traps Oogie has in there to keep us from getting to Christmas Town."

"No splitting up," Al said. "Worst mistake they can make in a horror movie splitting up is."

We all agreed, and then Al and I got back up on Frank as Jack led the way. The path seemed long with many twists and turns. We came around one bend and saw the whole area was covered in spiders. Jack cleared most of them with the Soul Robber, while Al made Frank trample the rest. Once the way was clear, Jack turned onto a different path. Every path we took had different enemies: Fire Skeletons, gargoyle and guillotine launching traps, and more spiders. Jack and Al fought them off effortlessly, and Frank got in a few good shots too. Me, I felt like a useless third wheel. I couldn't do anything without my katanas. Note to self: beat the hell out of Oogie and/or Lock, Shock, and Barrel next time I see them.

Finally we reached the center of the Hinterlands. I slid off Frank's back and approached the trees. I walked over next to Jack, who was standing next to the tree with the shape of the Independence Day Door. However, in place of the Independence Day door, Oogie had inserted his own firecracker-shaped Oogie Door.

"Oh well, isn't that just disgusting," Al said.

"Yeah, anything with _that_ face is pretty nasty," I agreed. "So, what now?"

Jack walked over and examined the door. "Will, may I see the Independence Day Door?" he asked. I handed Jack the door, and he placed it in the center of the Oogie Door.

"Whatcha up to, Boney Butt?" Al asked.

"It's just a thought, but I think it might work," Jack replied. "All I have to do is put the Independence Door back up, and it'll be good as new." At his word, the little door began to grow, and the Oogie Door began to crack until it shattered. The moment it was gone, the surrounding area began to take back its color. Jack placed his hand on the door, smiling that his plan had worked, but he sighed. "Oh well…"

"Jack…" I warned. "You better not have been thinking about going in there."

"Well, I was a little curious." He smiled sheepishly.

"No time for that today, sir. We can bother Uncle Sam another day," Al said, shaking her head slightly.

Ignoring their banter, I decided to take the St. Patrick's Day Door from my pack, and replace it in the tree. Just like the Independence Door, the St. Patrick's Door shattered the Oogie Door and restored color to another part of the Hinterlands. Two down and five to go. We still had no idea were the Christmas Door was, but the other doors where waiting for us at Spiral Hill. Well, since everything else seemed to be following the design of the game, we just had to collect the Oogie Doors and replace them with the Holiday Doors to activate Spiral Hill. I started to reach for the Valentine's Day Door when something grabbed my leg. I looked down and started kicking at the zombie skeleton that had popped out of the ground and grabbed my leg. Only problem was, I fell backwards, and the moment I hit the ground, two more popped up and grabbed my shoulders.

"AAAHHH! Get off me, you _Night of the Living Dead_ freaks!"

Out of the corner of my eye, Al spun and her eyes widened extremely when she spotted me. "ZOMBIES!" she screamed and charged. With three quick, crazed and deadly swipes, the zombies were beheaded.

"Thanks, Ally," I said as she helped me to my feet. "Remind me to add Chewy Everlasting Gobstoppers to that batch of M&M cookies."

Al nodded. "Always nice to kill zombies," she said with a slight shiver at 'zombies'.

"Uh, girls…" Jack interrupted. "I think we have a problem." Al and I looked over to see more enemies had appeared. From my count, I would say we were looking at about three ghosts, two Troll Skeletons, and four, count them, **FOUR** King Skeletons. I looked over to see Jack's Soul Robber turn blue, meaning we were in serious trouble. I wanted to help, but without my katanas I was about as helpful as a moving target.

Suddenly, Al handed me her halberd, telling me, "Nut up or shut up…and take care of my baby boy."

Nodding, I set my backpack down and flipped on the electric switch. Then the three of us charged. Jack took on one of the giant skeleton, while Al and I focused on the smaller zombies and ghosts. Al started going postal; hacking limbs and heads off as she went. I noticed Frank was charging through the zombies, knocking them over to get to his mistress. Meanwhile, I hacked and zapped my way through. Jack on the other hand, was getting pummeled. It looked like he had managed to take out all the ghosts and one of the King Skeletons, but the Troll Skeletons had snuck up behind him. Now they were practically using their clubs like badminton rackets, and Jack was the shuttlecock.

Meanwhile, the remaining three King Skeletons had taken an interest in Al and me. "Al…"

"One sec!" she called, hacking through a few more zombies. "Gotta kill these damn zombies!"

"Well, keep it up," I said, blocking as a King Skeleton swung its axe at me. "They're guarding the Holiday Trees. They won't stop until we beat every single one, or till we're all six feet under."

"I'm so going to need a nap after this," Al hissed, growing more frantic in her attacks as well as more deadly. Suddenly, she took off in a run, getting enough momentum to jump on Frank's back as he kicked at one of the King Skeletons. Al grabbed a fistful of his mane and charged him forward. The monster readied his axe as the kelpie suddenly leaped over it, allowing Al to swipe off its head. I could see her adrenaline rush was starting die down, but there were still too many enemies to fight. It looked like we were done for.

Then I thought I saw Al get an idea, but I had to take my eyes off her as another King Skeleton tried to sneak up on me. I broke the stalemate with the first, and blasted the second with a bolt of electricity. It fell to the ground, but I quickly spun on my heel as the first one tried to take another slash at me. During the struggle, I lost sight of Al and Frank. I peered over the King Skeleton's side, only to see Jack get slammed into the ground. He tried to get up, but one of the Trolls stomped on his spine. I heard a loud crack and suddenly the Holiday Leader went limp, the Soul Robber fading back to green.

"JACK!"

My hesitation left me open, and the King Skeleton knocked me backwards with the blunt end of his axe. The force knocked the air out of my lungs, and I was struggling to breath. Then, just as I was getting my second wind, I cried out in pain as the King Skeleton crushed me under its foot. It felt as if someone had let a Buick fall onto my lower body, crushing my legs to the point I thought they'd snap in half; I couldn't move!

I struggled under the weight, trying to reach for Al's halberd. It had gotten knocked from my grasp when I was hit. It was just out of reach, but if I could get my hands on it, I could shoot a bolt of electricity into this thing's face, and get it off me. Just when I had my fingertips on it, the King Skeleton stepped down harder, crushing my legs and torso. I screamed in pain, drawing back my hand. The creature then roared, and I looked up to see it raise its axe over its head.

I was gonna die, I was seriously gonna die! I shut my eyes and turned my head as the blade came rushing towards my face.

Suddenly, there was a loud shattering sound, like someone had broken a mirror. I cracked open one eye and gasped when I saw the blade a more than mere centimeter from my face. I could feel the icy metal biting into my cheek where the blade pressed into my skin, but the King Skeleton made no attempt to finish slicing me through. I heard something else shattered, and suddenly the King Skeleton collapsed around me. The blade slipped and sliced my cheek, and I was still pinned, but now I could move enough to get to a sitting position. I looked up to see all monsters were beginning to fall. I followed the shattering sound until I found the source.

Al was on Frank's back in front of the Easter Oogie Door, her chainsaw raised above her head. All the other Oogie Doors had been smashed, leaving the two Troll Skeletons left to fight. They began to charge her, but Al slammed her chainsaw into the door, causing a large crack. The effect caused the Trolls to freeze, rendering them unable to move. Al looked at them, a bloodlust glazed over her gray-green eyes.

"No one HURTS my friends!" she warned, raising her blade and setting it to a blood-red flame. "**NO ONE!**"

With one final thrust, Al slammed her blade into the door and shattered it into a thousand pieces. The Troll Skeletons roared and collapsed to the ground in a pile of bones. Everything began to settle down. Al collapsed against Frank, her face buried in his mane. "I soooo need a nap…" she gasped. "…and no more damn zombies!"

"Way to go, Ally!" I cheered.

She looked over at me. Seeing I was still pinned, Al slid off Frank's back and walked over to my side. I could tell she was exhausted, but she still managed enough strength to help me move the giant bones off of me. Once I was free, I stood up and, after handing her back her halberd, I hugged her. "Thanks, Al. You really saved my ass back there."

"Yeah, yay me," she said before collapsing onto the grass, covering her eyes with her arms. "I am officially calling for a rest."

"And you deserve it. After how you save Jack and me from being– Jack! Crap!" I turned around to where I'd last seen Jack. He was still facedown in the dirt, and even from where I was standing, I could see he was in bad shape. "Al, Jack's down."

She uncovered her eyes and glanced in the direction I was facing. "Do I _really_ have to get up?" she asked.

"Ally!"

"Fine, I'm moving." While Al ran over to check on him, I limped over to where I had dropped my backpack. I knelt down and began rummaging for the Crystal Skulls. I pulled one out and sighed when I saw it was still intact. Pressing it to my legs, I quickly felt the skull's healing powers fix all the fractures that I had. That taken care of, I placed the skull back in my pack, and then I made my way over to Al's side.

Al was kneeling by Jack's head, and she reached out to turn him over. "Careful!" I shouted, causing her to draw back. "We don't know the extent of his injuries."

I set my pack down and together we gently rolled him onto his back. His injuries were bad! His spine was close to being in two separate pieces, and his ribcage had been pressed in. Luckily he had no lungs, or they would've been punctured clean through. His neck was at an odd angle, and his arms and legs were badly cracked in several places. Even his jawbone — which had fallen off when we rolled him over — was cracked in the center. I looked over at Al, and she had gone back into napping mode. She was still exhausted, and had slipped into her "so much not care at that moment" mode. It looked like it was up to me.

I quickly took both Crystal Skulls out of my pack. I used the first on Jack's jawbone to fix the crack. Once that was healed, I got a little inventive. First, I set all Jack's pieces back into place. Then, I opened Jack's shirt and placed the Crystal Skull inside his ribcage. I figured it was the quickest way to heal all of his bones. Just to make sure, I placed the second Crystal Skull at the base of his neck to add some extra healing power. Though, I couldn't help laughing a little at the sight of Jack's "new head." It did look really funny.

I heard a low moan and looked to see Jack's skull twitch. I quickly picked it up and gasped when I saw his eyes start to open. Remembering his jaw was gone, I picked it up and reattached it. I heard a "click" and watched as Jack started to rotate his jaw. "Hey Bone Daddy, how you feeling?" I asked.

"A little lightheaded, but fine all the same," he answered. "What happened…and why can't I feel my legs?"

"We were outnumbered, and you and I almost got clobbered," I explained. "Luckily, Al had the brilliant idea to smash all the Oogie Doors. No doors, no monsters."

"My, what a clever girl." He shifted his skull around to where Al was lying down. "Thank you, Al. I am in truly grateful to you." No response.

I chuckled. "Jack, better not try and wake her," I said. "Rule #12: don't poke the sleeping bear. I thought you'd remember that from back in the Graveyard earlier."

"Well, I suppose you have a point." Jack shifted until he was facing me again. "So, now the only question is what we are to do now? We still have to stop Oogie from ruining Christmas."

"Good point…" I started to weigh our options. On the one hand, we still needed to put the Holiday Doors back in place, but now that Al had smashed all the Oogie Doors, the barrier on Spiral Hill would activate once the doors were removed. And on the other, we still had no clue where that boogieman had hidden the Christmas Door. Not to mention the fact we were all tired and injured from our recent fight. Still, there was no way we were giving up.

I checked out Jack's injuries. It looked like the combined healing from the skulls had fixed Jack's spine a little, but his body was still pretty beat up. Though, it looked like he would be able to move now. I took the Crystal Skull off Jack's neck and set it in his ribcage with the other before reattaching his own skull to his body. He groaned from the pain, but he managed to help me lift him back to his feet. I helped him over to Frank. Seeing how badly Jack was hurt, the kelpie knelt down so I could get Jack on his back. Once he was settled, I walked over to Al. She wasn't going to be very happy, but we needed to get going.

I nudged her shoulder with my foot. "Shake a leg, Al. Time to get going."

Al growled low and took a swipe at me. "Rule #12!" she barked.

"I know you're tired, but we have holidays to save," I argued. "If you want, you can ride with Jack on Frank, but be easy. The poor skeleton was used as a punching bag, and the skulls are taking longer to heal him."

She grumbled and trudged to Frank's side, climbing onto his back. "You no good pillow," she said, resting her head on Jack's back. He hissed from the pain, but soon relaxed against Frank.

I stood by Frank's side so I could steady them both, and then led us back down the path Jack had taken us. Only, now we had another problem to add to the growing list. How the heck were we supposed to get back to Spiral Hill without getting lost? I was about to ask Jack which way we had come, but I looked over to see he had passed out. Great! Neither Al nor I had any clue how to find our way back, and the only one who could guide us back was unconscious.

"Al, we have a problem," I said. "Do you remember the way we came in?"

"I no working. Frank good memory though," she grumbled. Frank bobbed his head in agreement.

"Not that I don't trust your judgment, Frank, but if we just went down a random path, we would more than likely end up getting turned around, and never finding our way out." The kelpie snorted at my lack of confidence in him, and started walking ahead. I followed after him until we came to five pathways. Frank looked around and took the path on the far left. I wanted to follow after him, but not even two minutes went by and he appeared out of the path on the right. Confused, Frank tried another path but ended up back to where we started. Frank whinnied in frustration.

"It's okay, Frank." I walked over to him, and patted his nose. "I'm sure we'll find a way out." I looked around, trying to find anything that might help. That was when I noticed the bats flying overhead. "Al, look! Bats!"

"Joy to the world," Al said, waving an imaginary in false happiness. "Too tired."

"Oh, for the love of… Excuse me." I walked over to where the bats were circling. "Hey, guys. Would any of you mind showing us the way out?" I asked. "We're kind of lost."

_Is that human talking to us?_ I heard one ask.

_Couldn't be_, said another. _Just ignore it. It'll get bored and go away._

"Hey!" I shouted. "I can hear you, you know. And by the way, I'm a she, not an it."

_Whoa! Hey guys, the human can hear us!_ one shouted. He flew down to my level. He was a rather large bat with moderately long fur that was a nice, shiny brown color, though his wing membranes, ears, feet, and face were a darker brown, sort of blackish shade. He was actually kind of cute for a bat.

_You can hear us, right?_ he asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "Look, we really need to get back to Spiral Hill, and our guide is badly hurt. Think you can help?"

_Guide?_ He looked over and did a back flip when he saw Jack. _Holy smoke! Hey guys, it's the Pumpkin King!_ That must have been the magic word, because the next thing I knew, all the bats were gathering around trying to get a glimpse of Jack.

Al moved closer to Jack, not exactly happy being suddenly surrounded. "Back off ya screeching band of flying rodents. Back I say!" Al shouted.

I ignored her, and kept my eyes on the bats. The bat that had called his buddies turned back to me. _Okay, human,_ he said. _My pals and I will show you the way out._

"Thanks, little guy. We really appreciate it," I said.

_Anything for friends of the Pumpkin King. Just follow us, and we'll have ya back to Spiral Hill in no time. Also, the name's Puck._

I giggled at the familiar name, then turned to Al. "It's alright, Al. Puck and his friends are gonna show us the way out."

"Joy to the world, the screeching bat guides have come…" Al sang sarcastically. "Napping here."

"Don't mind Al," I said to Puck. "She's just tired. It's been a _long_ day, and we still have work to do." I heard a long groan coming from Frank's back and laughed. Poor Ally, I really did owe her. Maybe I'll add a special blend of mango-apple smoothies along with those cookies I owe her.

Puck laughed too. _Well then, I guess we better be on our way. If you'll please follow me, milady._

With Puck guiding us, finding our way back was much easier. Al pressed herself closer to Jack's back in order to avoid being too close to any of the bats. Meanwhile, I was actually having fun talking with Puck. I told him about the bat potion mix-up, and he taught me some interesting techniques to using echolocation. We were so deep in conversation, we didn't noticed that we had finally made it to the exit. Al took off toward Spiral Hill, but I hung back to thank the bats for helping us out. "Thanks again, Puck. You and your friends really saved us back there."

_No problem,_ Puck answered. _My colony was happy to assist you, and I… I enjoyed getting to know you, Will. If you ever find yourself walking in the Hinterlands, maybe-maybe we could hang out, or something._

I laughed. "Well, I'll have to check my schedule, but once we stop Oogie Boogie, and if the bat potion hasn't worn off, I might just do that. Bye, Puck."

_Farewell, Willa_, he called.

I waved goodbye, and then ran after Al. I caught up to her, but she was looking at me rather sheepishly. "What?"

"If that was you flirting… Girl, we need to talk," she said.

"Wha– What are you talking about?" I scoffed. "Me, flirting? Al, he's a bat."

"And a fine looking Bat-man. Yes, that was intended so get over it," she said.

"Al, you're getting as bad as Kat," I retorted. "Though at least Kat tries to set me up with someone of the same species."

Al kept arguing I was in denial, and I insisted she was insane, when we reached the other side of Spiral Hill. Though, what surprised me was that Sally was there, and it looked like she had been waiting for us. "Sally, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Oh Will, I'm so glad to see you're alright," she said. She ran over to us and wrapped her arms around me. "I was so worried. Jack told me to go back to town, but I suddenly sensed something was terribly wrong. I came back here and waited for you. Where's Jack?"

Al gestured in front of her. "I present the Jack."

I felt my heart sink as I watched Sally look over at Jack. Her eyes widened in horror and she rushed to his side. If I had to guess, she was having a flashback of her fears from last year. I walked up next to her and helped her get Jack off Frank's back. We laid him on the ground and Sally moved Jack's head to rest in her lap. He didn't wake up, but I did hear him mutter in pain as we moved him. Poor Sally. I could see the tears pooling behind her eyes as she stroked Jack's skull.

"Ho-How did this happen?" Sally asked, her voice getting choked up.

"We were ambushed at the Holiday Trees," I explained. "Jack got cornered and well, they beat him pretty bad. I put the Crystal Skulls in his ribcage to help him, but it's taking longer than usual for him to heal."

Al yawned. "Let's also not forget that I need a nap, and we better grab those doors while we're at it too," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Good point. Sally, you mind looking after Jack while we collect the doors?" I didn't even wait for her to answer before standing up and walking over to the weird statue. It looked like Al had fallen asleep again, so I had to remove the doors by myself. I really should've brought some energy bars or something. Even a bottle of Fountain Water poured down Al's throat would perk her right up. I carefully removed each door, and watched as the violinist statue moved back, and removed its bow. That meant the barrier was back in place, so we had to find another way back to the Hinterlands. I took the vile of shirking potion from my backpack and shrunk the doors back down to miniature size. I put them back into my pack and walked back over to the group.

As I got closer, I gasped when I saw Jack begin to move, and his eyes opened. "S-Sally?"

"I'm here, Jack," Sally replied. Her smile could rival the moon as happy tears streamed down her cheeks. "Try not to move, okay? You're wounds haven't fully healed yet."

Jack tried sitting up, but I was quick to push him back down. "Easy there, pal," I said. "You took a couple hard hits back there. Listen to your lady, and lie still."

Jack did as he was told, but his eye sockets were still trained on Sally. "Sally, what are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you had gone back to town, where it's safe?"

"I'm sorry, Jack, but I… I just had to know you were safe." Sally bit her lip, unsure what else she was supposed to say.

Jack started to shush her when he saw her tears, and weakly raised one hand to her cheek. "It's okay, Sally," he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

She smiled and kissed his palm. "While you were gone, I took a look at the device Oogie used to keep Spiral Hill from stretching out," she explained. "You know that the Holiday Doors belong in the Hinterlands. If you swap the facing with real doors, the path should open for you."

"Yeah, little snag in that plan," I said. "Al had to destroy those in order to save Jack and me from getting smashed and decapitated. Got a Plan B, by any chance?"

"I'm afraid not," Sally replied. "You'll have to take the long way to get to the Hinterlands, and Jack is no condition to travel that way."

"Sally, I'll be fine," Jack interrupted. "We need to stop Oogie…" He paused in his attempt to sit up and hissed in pain, grabbing his midsection.

"What you need, is to rest," Sally interjected, easing him back down. "Jack, I know you have to stop Oogie Boogie, but right now you're in no condition to even move, let alone fight."

"But Sally?"

Well, Jack and Sally were in a lover's quarrel, and Al was passed out on Frank's back as the kelpie munched on some dead grass. I sighed and sat back. It looked like we weren't going anywhere soon, so I thought I might as well think up a plan of what to do next. We had all but one of the Holiday Doors, and no idea where the Christmas Door was hidden. Not to mention, we were all still pretty beat from our last battle. Even now I was beginning to feel the extent of my injuries. There was a dull pain in my torso, and my cheek stung from where I had cut it on the King Skeleton's axe. Maybe I could convince Al to let me borrow Frank. Then I could run back to Halloween Town and fill up on Spring Water. A couple swigs of that slime and we'd all be right as rain, though Al and I might have burnt throats.

As I considered the options, a small breeze blew by and I sat up straight. There was a pungent order in the air and I just couldn't place my finger on what it was. I looked over at the others, but none of them seemed to notice. Even Frank seemed unaffected, so I was probably just imagining it. But then I caught a stronger scent and I knew I wasn't imagining things. Jack and Sally were still arguing so I decided to ask Al about it.

I got up and walked over to her and Frank. The kelpie looked up and nudged my shoulder, a warning not to disturb his mistress. I patted the spot between his eyes and then nudged Al's shoulder. "Al," I whispered. "Hey, Al."

"What part of Rule #12 don't you understand," she hissed, swatting at me. "Leave, let me sleep."

"Never mind that. Look, you know I have a weird sense of smell, right?" I asked. "Remember, we were shopping at the mall, and I told you that one store smelled like a leather bathing suit?"

"That was pretty weird, but what's that have to do with this situation?" Al asked.

"Well, right now…" I took another whiff, and crinkled my nose. "I smell… I smell a brimstone snow cone."

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Ooo! I think you all know what's gonna happen next, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Battle of the Kings**

(Narrator's POV)

"Brimstone snow cone?" Al asked, unsure what to make of her friends odd statement.

"I know, it's weird, but that's what I smell," Will replied.

The girls had no idea what to make of such an ordeal. Meanwhile, Jack was slowly getting his strength back. The Crystal Skulls had already fixed the cracks in his arms and legs, but his spine was still mending and his ribs were not fully healed yet. He really wanted to get to Christmas Town as soon as possible, but with the barrier up, it would take them too long to go around with all their injuries. Despite his protests, Sally had been surprisingly forceful in getting Jack to rest. Though, that might have been due to her sneaky maneuver in massaging his sore bones. She had started with his shoulder blades, being careful of his spine, and then working her way down his arms. Jack definitely had no complaints about being tricked. Sally's gentle hands felt wonderful on his aching bones, and Sally was just happy to help Jack feel more comfortable.

Little did the party know something was coming for them. Something big.

"What does a snow cone smell like?" Al asked offhandedly. "Hmm…"

"It's not so much a snow cone, but more like… Oh, I don't know." Will was getting frustrated, and she started to pace. "Here we are, needing to stop Oogie from wrecking Christmas, and I'm worrying over a funky smell."

"Oh yeah…forgot about that…" Al said, yawning a bit. "So Christmas Door…did we ever find that?"

"No. We have the other doors, but the Christmas Door is nowhere." Will sighed. She got up and walked over towards Spiral Hill, just two steps from the barrier. "Even if we did have it, how are we supposed to get past this?"

Al slid off Frank's back and walked over to Will's side. "Good question," Al said, sticking out her hand. "Obviously this barrier – Whoa!" Al shrieked as she suddenly fell forward, landing on her face.

"Al, are you okay?" Will asked.

"Oh shit… I need more sleep," she groaned, pounding the ground. "I am not awake enough for this! Rawr!"

"That was weird." Will put her hand out, but instead of passing through, a bolt of electricity shot up her arm and pushed her back. "Ouch!" she yelped, holding her hand to her chest.

"Will, are you all right?" Jack asked. Both he and Sally had heard the girl cry out. Quickly helping Jack lean up against the fence post, Sally got up and rushed over to Will.

"I'm fine," she said as the rag doll examined her now red hand. "But that sure hurt."

"What happened?" Sally asked.

"The barrier…it just shocked me," Will said, then turned to Al. "But Al managed to pass through easily."

"It must like me more," Al said with a shrug.

"I don't think so." Sally stepped away from Will and placed her hand on the barrier. There was a small shock, but otherwise Sally was unharmed.

"Sally, you okay?" Will asked.

"Yes, I'm all right, but I think I know what happened," Sally explained. "When I came here earlier, I felt a similar shock as I climbed up Spiral Hill. I didn't really notice it then, but I believe this barrier repels monsters from crossing into the Hinterlands. I can't feel pain, so it didn't affect me more than a sense of static shock. That also explains why Al was able to pass through without any harm."

"See? It does like me more," Al said with a slight smirk.

"Well, that explains why we were propelled back the first time," Will said, but something still puzzled her. "But then why couldn't I pass through when Al could?"

"Cuz your still kinda batty," Al said, making a note of Will's still glowing blue eyes.

"Batty? What do you mean?" Sally asked, unaware of what they were talking about.

"Death! I forgot," Will exclaimed. "Helgamine warned me not to use any of the bat traits, or the antidote they made wouldn't take effect. Arg, it must have been when I asked Puck and his friends for help."

"You can talk to bats?" Sally asked, still out of the loop.

"I'll give you the whole story later," Will said. "Right now it means only Al can get through the barrier. Which doesn't do us any good anyway since we still don't have the Christmas Door."

"Damn…" Al said. "Can I go back to sleep then?"

"Al, this is serious. We don't have time for naps," Will stressed. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke again. "We'll just have to come up with another plan."

"Perhaps we should head back to town," Sally suggested. "At least we can get you all some Spring Water for your wounds. I'm sure once you have your strength back, you'll think of something."

"Not a bad plan, Sally. Let's…" Will was cut off as the ground began to shake, causing all three of them to stumble. "Did anyone else feel that?" she asked, praying no one did.

Al's eyes widened as the ground shook. "Something big is coming…" she breathed.

"What could that be?" Sally was getting worried.

Suddenly the color drained from Will's already pale face. Shivers crawled over her skin as the scent of ice and brimstone grew stronger. "Oh no!" she whispered.

"Is it a T-Rex?! This feels like a T-Rex!" Al said.

"Oh, I wish it was a T-Rex. It's…"

Before Will could finish, there was a crash, like thunder, followed by the sound of clanking metal. Will, Al, and Sally all turned around and gasped. Standing not more then ten feet in front of them were two enormous King Skeletons.

The first was entirely covered in ice, keeping the bones encased in a hard protective shell. Icicles hung off its ribs and joints, and created claw-like talons on its hands to match the razor fangs in its mouth. The frost giant was dressed in a Viking style similar to its smaller counterpart and wielded a large ice-mace, creating its own arctic wind around it. The second King Skeleton was the complete opposite. The bones were charred black as magma heated the creature's core, singeing the surrounding area. Unlike its frozen counterpart, the fiery demon wore golden gladiator armor and wielded a buster sword, with a metal blade consumed in flames similar to that of Al's chainsaw.

Al gaped and muttered, "Those are worse than a T-Rex…" while Will couldn't tear her eyes from the monsters. Only one thing was going through her mind: how to get away. They couldn't beat these things on their own they were too powerful.

"Jack!" Sally screamed.

Will turned to see Jack struggling to get up, but the King Skeletons had already spotted him. The Fire King roared and stomped over to Jack, its sword raised above its head. Without thinking, the rag doll ran forward.

"Sally, wait!" Will had no time to stop her, and the Fire King was getting closer. Meanwhile the Ice King was headed right for Will and Al.

"Al, stall the Ice King!" Will yelled as she ran after Sally.

Al groaned. "First, you wake the sleeping bear… Now, the bear is unleashed!" she said, revving Bertha to life, the flames consuming the moving blades.

With a banshee cry, she rushed the Ice King and hacked at his ankle. The combination of the fire and the blade made quick work, cutting through the thick layer of ice encasing the bone. As the blade made contact with bone, the Ice King roared in pain from the attack and swung its ice mace at Al. Dodging most of the attack, a single spike dug into her shoulder. Pulling back the weapon, the creature grabbed the front of Al's shirt, it's icy touch creating a layer of frost over the material and chilling the surface of Al's collarbone. Bringing her up to eye level, the Ice King roared at Al. It raised it mace again, but before it could strike, Frank had charged at the creature and slammed into the Ice King's leg. The force from the blow subsequently caused the giant to drop its mace. Frank gathered himself and jumped off the ground to be eye level with the Ice King for a moment. He struck out with his hooves, digging his claws into his layer of ice near the skeleton's nose hole. Frank then struck out faster than a snake and embedded his teeth into the upper ridge of the eye socket. Roaring, the Ice King swat at the stallion, successfully knocking him off and back hard into the ground.

In response, Al threw her flaming chainsaw into the Ice King's eye socket. "Nobody hurts my Frank, you sicko!" she yelled, laughing at the creature's pain. Roaring as the chainsaw rattled around its socket, the Ice King threw Al to the ground, pinning her under the weapon.

Meanwhile, Sally had just barely gotten to Jack. He panicked when she dropped by his side and started helping him up. "Sally, what are you doing? Get out of here?" he yelled.

"I'm not leaving you," she protested.

"I'll be fine. Just run!" he said. His focus was broken as the Fire King roared, drawing closer to the couple. Jack looked up and saw there wasn't time for both of them to get away.

Using what strength he had, Jack grabbed Sally's shoulders and pushed her away just as the Fire King brought down its sword. Jack fell the side, the sword just barely missing either of them. Giving another battle cry, the Fire King brought the blade up again and readied to strike. Jack tried to move, but the creature quickly pinned him under its foot. Jack cried out as he felt his right femur snap. As the fiery blade bore down on him, Jack looked up and shielded his face with his arms, the heat from the blade already seeping through to his bones.

Sally couldn't tear her eyes away as from the sword bore down on him. "JACK!"

Before the blade could cut through Jack's skull, something flashed in front of the Fire King, causing the creature to roar and stumble backwards. As it moved to attack its assailant, Sally rushed to Jack's side. Carefully she helped him up and moved him away as the Fire King lunged and flailed its sword. They looked over at the creature to see what had stopped its attack. Whatever was attacking it was too fast for either Jack or Sally to tell what it was. There was also a strange echoing sound that seemed to vibrate around the igneous creature. The Fire Skeleton roared and swung its sword harder in the air, trying to hit the moving target only to hit air or solid earth.

Once they were safely away from the two giants, Sally helped Jack rest against an old well. "What do think that was?" she asked, looking back at the scene over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure but I'm grateful, whatever it was," Jack answered. "Wait, where are the girls?" He looked around and gasped when he saw Al pinned under the Ice King's mace. She was struggling and muttering curses under her breath, but the giant ice weapon wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, the Ice King had finally removed the chainsaw from its eye and tossed it aside, the device falling to the ground encased in a block of ice. But there was no sign of Will anywhere.

"I don't see Will anywhere, but we've got to help Al," Jack said. He started moving forward, but was stopped by Sally.

"Jack, your leg is broken," she reminded him. "You can't go out there."

"But Sally?"

"I got her!" a voice called, causing Jack and Sally to look up. The voice came from Will, who was now flying overhead in her bat hybrid form. She dove for Al — talons extended — and grabbed Al by her shoulders. With a quick jerk, she was freed. Will kept a tight grip, avoiding the Ice King as it clawed at her, and flew them over to where Jack and Sally were hiding.

"Woo! Saved by Batgirl!" Al cheered. "Where is your fine master Batman?"

"Real cute, Ally," Will joked back. She flew them over to where Jack and Sally stood and set Al on the ground. "Are you two all right?" she asked.

"We're fine, but Will, how did you change back?" Jack asked, unable to take his eyes off Will. "I thought you said Helgamine and Zeldaborne's antidote had undone the bat potion effects?"

Will sighed. "I saw you and Sally in trouble and did what I had to," she said. "After the barrier confirmed I still had the potion in my system, I knew it was either let you two fry, or trade up for permanent wings. So, obviously, I changed back into a bat and played decoy so you and Sally could get away. I'm just glad old Flame Brain didn't singe off any off my fur."

"Such lovely fur…" Al said, stroking her arm. Will pulled back her arm as Al laughed until suddenly her eyes fell on her chainsaw. "Oh Bertha!" She ran over to the ice block.

Will ignored her and focused on the King Skeletons who were getting back into fighting mode. "Look, this is gonna be dangerous. You two need to get out of here, now," Will urged.

"What about you two?" Jack asked. "There's no way I'm leaving you girls behind to fight those things."

"Oh, we don't have time for this." Will put her fingers to her lips and whistled. The sound signaled Frank just as the kelpie was getting his second wind. Getting to his feet, Frank whined and came galloping up to them. Without another word, Will lifted Jack onto his back, then helped Sally sit behind him.

"Sally, get yourselves back to Halloween Town. Al and I will catch up as soon as we take down these Elemental rejects," Will said, looking over at Al, who was at the moment banging a rock in an attempt to break through the ice surrounding her chainsaw.

Jack was about to voice another protest, but Will quickly smacked Frank's flank and the kelpie took off racing. Meanwhile the Fire King finally spotted them and was lumbering towards them.

"Al, any time now," Will encouraged.

"I'm a little busy here!" Al spat back, just making a dent in the ice. "I can't be in two places at one ya know!"

"Well, then let me borrow this." Will quickly took the halberd off Al's back sling, and charged up the electrical blast. "Move!" she yelled. Al moved out of the way and Will blasted the ice block in half. She managed to aim it so the blast didn't damage the chainsaw. Al squealed and cuddled her chainsaw.

"Oh, Bertha! You're alive!" Al said happily.

The girls readied their weapons and charged at the Fire King. Al aimed for the ankles of the giant, going for the smaller bones, while Will used the halberd and attacked from the air. The combined blasts from the halberd and flaming chainsaw seemed to be weakening it. However, just as Al was going in for another strike, the Fire King suddenly turned a solid black with glowing red eyes. Even the sword it wielded became solid ebony. Will pulled up but Al kept going in, determined to slice the skeleton's spine in two. Will tried to call out a warning for her to stop but it was too late. The moment Al's chainsaw made contact with the blackened bone, the blade hitched and bounced off the spine and threw her back into Spiral Hill.

"Ally!" Will blasted the Fire King with an electric bolt and then flew as close to Al as the barrier would allow her. "Al, are you okay?" she asked, hovering close by.

Al sat up and cracked her back. "I've been tossed off worse," she said. She then turned her gaze on the Fire King and scowled. "The heck happened?"

"The Fire King had this ability in the game too," Will explained, setting back down on the ground. "Any time it turns solid black, the rock covering acts like an impenetrable shield. In short, if it's black don't attack."

"Well, shit." Al picked herself up and revved her chainsaw. "Too bad flames only work on the Ice King."

"Yeah, it would make it easier if– Wait! Where is the Ice King?" Will suddenly asked, looking around for their second opponent.

"In the Land of Ooo," Al responded, snickering to herself.

"Not funny," Will remarked. "What if it was right behind you?" Al quick checked behind her and turned back to Will with a death glare. Will just shrugged. "Just saying. Seriously, where is it?"

"Horse shit!"

"Why did you say that? It's never good when someone says that." Will looked off into the direction Al had paused and gasped.

While the Fire King had been busy fighting off the girls, the Ice King had jumped after Jack and Sally. Frank was just at the gate when the Ice King jumped in front of them, blocking off their escape. Frank reared up on his hind legs, kicking out his front legs to warn off the creature. The beast roared back and swung its mace, but this time the kelpie outmaneuvered the attack and ran back towards the hill. However, the Ice King threw its mace in front of Frank, causing the kelpie to trip as he tried to avoid the deadly icicles. In his stumble, Jack slipped from his back and rolled to the ground, one of the Crystal Skulls slipping free of his ribcage. Now noticing his passenger load had lightened, Frank managed to correct his footing and kept going. The moment he went down, Will knew they needed help. She quickly jumped in the air and flew at the Fire King, Blasting it with the halberd's electric blasts until it fell to the ground. It was only stunned, so she quickly circled back and grabbed Al in her talons before flying off in Jack and Sally's direction.

Seeing him fall, Sally quickly grabbed two handfuls of Frank's mane, and steered him back towards Jack. The Pumpkin King tried to get to his feet, but his leg was still severely cracked. However, the Ice King had reclaimed its mace. It spotted Jack struggling on the ground, but then its attention was diverted as Sally called out to him. It growled and began to stalk towards the rag doll.

Jack heard the growl and spotted the Ice King. Then his gaze trained on the creatures target and he gasped when he saw it headed right for Sally. He tried to get up, waving his hand and warning her to turn around. "Sally, go back! It's headed right for you!" he cried.

Sally was only three feet away when she heard Jack call out. Seeing the Ice King, she pulled back on Frank's mane, making him divert his path. They just barely dodged as the Ice King took a swing at them. It roared and tried again, but a large blast hit the back of its head, disorienting it. Jack and sally both looked up to see Will and Al flying overhead. Al had combined the power of her chainsaw and halberd to create a powerful hit.

"Don't mess with my pony, or the fabulous rag doll, you T-Rex, so just stay down!" Al yelled loudly.

"Easy Al," Will struggled to say. "It's hard to fly with you moving around like that."

"Sorry girl," Al said, stilling. She turned back and suddenly yelled, "Ice King at twelve o'clock!"

It was too late. The Ice King had struck at them with its mace, the frozen weapon slamming into Will's body and hurling both girls into a couple of tombstones. Al was slightly bruised, but the stone had cracked in half during their landing, and embedded itself close to where the Ice King's mace had penetrated her shoulder. She stood up and removed the stone, but blood began to pour from the now open wound. Will slowly got to a sitting position, her shoulder blade and upper half of her back bruised from crashing into the headstone. She noticed a bulge in front of her right shoulder joint, and tested her wings. An instant pain shot through her, and Will realized the impact had dislocated her shoulder during the landing, making flying impossible. She began to get lightheaded and started to fall backwards.

"Easy girl," Al said. "Dislocated your shoulder so no more flying. Now, I can put it back but your arm is going to be no good."

"No time," Will hissed, the pain increasing as her arm moved about. "Look!"

While Al had been helping Will to her feet, the Ice King had turned its attention back on Frank and Sally. And if things weren't already bad, the Fire King had gotten out of his daze and joined the Ice King.

"Shit…" Al said, rolling her shoulders and wincing. "It'll do more damage not to fix it now. It'll be quick."

"Okay, do it fast." Will braced herself as Al made her lie down.

"Relax," Al assured her. "It'll hurt more if you don't relax." Grabbing her wrist, she placed her foot on Will's shoulder and pulled quickly. The shoulder snapped back into place, making Will cry out in pain.

But there was another, more terrifying scream filling the air. Sally had seen the girls fall and had changed direction to get to them. However, in her hast, she never saw the King Skeletons advancing on her. As if rehearsed a thousand times before, the two giants raised their weapons and struck, blindsiding the rag doll and sending Frank into the air. He landed with a sickening snap, and his back flank smoking from severe burns. Al screamed in horror and ran to the fallen kelpie's side, Will trailing right behind her. But as they looked over Frank's critical injuries, they noticed Sally was neither anywhere Frank, nor was she pinned under the animal's body. That's when another scream was heard, but this cry came from the Pumpkin King himself.

"SALLY!"

Sally had been caught on the Ice King's mace, the long sharp icicles penetrating her body. To Jack's horror, he watched as the Ice King swung its axe, sending Sally's body crashing into a thorn covered headstone. Autumn leaves scattered everywhere, but Sally lay deathly still. Jack felt his chest constrain as she continued to lie there, but his shock and horror quickly turned to rage as he turned his eyes back on the King Skeletons.

Shock. Anger. Rage. These emotions built inside Jack, hotter than a raging forest fire. Flames began to lick his bones as he summoned his Pumpkin Fire. The flames sparked in a bright orange, but as Jack's anger grew, the flames took on a dark, blood red shade and black smoke began to envelope his whole body. All that stood out were to burning, glowing red eyes.

Will and Al heard Jack call out and were horrified as they watched Sally hit the tombstone. Will ushered Al to come with her to check on Sally, but Al wouldn't leave Frank's side. Understanding her friend's bond to the strange aquatic animal, Will quickly left to help Sally.

As she approached, Will did her best to not to crush too many of the leaves that had spilled out of Sally's body as she maneuvered through the thorns. Will carefully removed as many thorns as she could, the sharp brambles scratching her skin. Once she had enough clear, she kneeled down next to Sally's side, looking over the severity of the situation before attempting to move the rag doll's body. Sally was a mess. Her legs had been roughly separated from her body in the landing, and there was a large tear on Sally's left side. Her left arm hung loosely from her shoulder, but Sally's other arm was pinned under her body. Carefully, Will eased Sally onto her back. She gasped at the sight. The entire stitching on the right side of Sally's face had been caught on the thorns, tearing half her face off. Her right eye was practically popping out of the socket. The stitching along the left side of her mouth had been split open, along with the stitching near where her collarbone would be.

"Oh man," Will whispered, shocked by the damage. Gently, she tapped Sally's shoulder. "Sally, are you…are you okay?" she asked.

There was a soft moan and Sally began to open her eyes. "Will?"

"Oh, thank heaven, you're okay," Will cheered, dropping on her hands with a grateful sigh. "You really scared me."

"Well, I don't feel pain but from the look in your eyes, it must be pretty bad," Sally said, still smiling. But then her smile turned to worry and she looked around. "W-Where's Jack?" she asked.

A loud, eerie cackle filled the air, and Will covered her ears against the earsplitting sound. The smell of sulfur filled her sensitive nose, and a thick black smoke began to spread over the Graveyard. Sally gasped, causing Will to turn around to see the King Skeletons bracing themselves against an enormous bonfire. The two monsters was roaring as the heat from the blaze grew and even from where they were hiding, Sally and the girls could feel the heat from the intensity of the flames. A pillar of black smoke towered in the sky, and at the core stood a tall figure, cackling insanely.

The hellish creature wore tattered and burned clothes, though while burnt, were not consumed by the fire. Its body was surrounded by a thick, fiery red aura while its skeletal body was like charcoal. Beneath the flames, an inky black twisted pumpkin stood in for a head, but it was the face that was the most grotesque. The eyes were dark hollows against the skull-like features, and the blackened, jagged teeth were razor-sharp and curled into a murderous smile.

It was Jack.

He hissed, spitting small flames, and jerk its gaze at the King Skeletons. The creatures seemed unfazed by the nightmarish creature, and the Ice King threw it mace at it. The weapon went flying through the smoke straight for the fire beings head, but the creature used pyrokinetic powers to put up a shield that turned the mace into mere vapor before it could hit its target. Then, Jack pounced. Without its mace, the creature was powerless to defend itself. Jack leapt onto the Ice King and roared, sending a stream of fire and lava into its face. The intensity of the heat was too much and the Ice King instantly melted into the ground. Then Jack turned on the Fire King. He lunged at the second King Skeleton, but the monster blocked Jack's attack with its sword. Both creatures used the same elemental power, making the fighters evenly matched. Fire and brimstone rained down around the graveyard as the two Titians fought, setting fire to several patches of the Graveyard.

Sally couldn't tear her eyes from the scene. Never before had she seen Jack like this. His Pumpkin King persona was a terrifying sight, especially when Jack set himself on fire last Halloween. But this… This was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Sally, we need to move," Will urged, knowing they had to get out of the line of fire.

With a nod, Will helped Sally get her arms around Will's neck as she lifted the rag doll into her arms. Sally was very light, but Will needed to move quickly to avoid being blasted, but carefully enough not to spill any more of Sally's leaves. They made it safely to where Al and Frank were hiding, but Al, despite looking a lot better than when Will had left her side moments ago, was clutching tightly to Frank and she had a terrified look on her face.

"Holy shit!" she cried. "Not another fire monster! This one looks even scarier and tougher than the last one! RUN FOR YOUR LIFES!"

Will set Sally against the broken tombstone, stuffing a few fallen leaves back into her right socket. "Al, that thing is Jack."

Al was silent for a moment. "Okay, that is pretty awesome then…though I really don't know if I should still be terrified or highly impressed," she said.

"I think I might know what happened," Sally said. Some of the leaves spilled from her mouth and fell in her lap. "Earlier, you mentioned the skulls weren't healing Jack as quickly as the two of you, right?"

"Yeah, it was taking forever for him to heal, and they practically had to graze skin to heal it" Al said, pondering a bit.

"But what does that have to do with this situation?" Will asked.

Sally was quiet for a moment. "Well, the two of you are alive so naturally you would heal faster," Sally suggested. "But my guess is that when Jack saw we were in trouble, the energy from the skulls bonded with Jack's elemental powers."

"Are you trying telling us that itty bitty skull turned Jack Skellington into that thing?" Will asked, pointing back to the battling Fire Elementals.

Sally confirmed with a nod. "Jack once told me he holds back when he becomes the Pumpkin King. He wants to scare people, not hurt them… But I never imagined his power could be anything like this.

Will smacked her hand against her forehead. "Great! Just, great. Raging Demon Pumpkin King on the loose. Just what we need right now." Suddenly Will got a perplexed look on his face. "Wait, I saw one of the skulls fall out when Jack fell off Frank's back. So, if one skull is supercharging Jack, where's the other one?" Will asked.

"Frank caught it!" Al replied, holding up her hand. "After you left, I noticed Frank's wounds were magically healing, but his whinnies were kinda muffled. So I took a look in his mouth, and saw this wedged between his teeth." Al moved her other hand and held up the second Crystal Skull. Frank nickered and Al put the skull back under the kelpie's head. "Okay, happy that you're getting better, Frank, but rapid healing is kinda freaky."

While they talked, Jack and the Fire King we still going head-to-head. Jack was attacking like a wild animal, clawing and slashing his opponent while using a variety of fire attacks. Meanwhile, the Fire King had reverted back to its impenetrable shield. Jack's fire attacks rained down, but had no affect other than burning the surrounding soil. If something wasn't done soon, the whole Graveyard would be burnt to ashes, along with Will, Al, and Sally.

Al looked over at her friends. She had discovered that by wrapping her arms around Frank's neck and pressing against him, the cooling relief of the skull's healing power flowed into both of them. However, Will and Sally were worse for the wear. They needed to get out of there and get help, but she couldn't let old Boney Butt burn down the whole place. Suddenly Al thought of something.

Quickly gathering her weapons, Al stood to her feet. "You two stay here. I've got an idea," she ordered. Will wanted to argue, but before she could protest, Al took off. She jogged toward the fighting monsters, careful to dodge rogue fire blasts and still burning fires. When Jack and the Fire King locked in a stalemate, Al crept closer, looking for any way she could get to Jack. She had only moments before the two pushed each other back.

Jack snarled and let out an inhuman screech, which was meet with a thunderous roar of the Fire King. The monster was still hiding beneath its impenetrable shell. Jack knew his prey was being clever, but there was a way to break through that volcanic rock. With a low hiss, Jack focused all his power until the energy building within him cause his fiery aura burned high in the air. Once he let this fire blast loose, the whole Graveyard would be burnt to ash, along with anyone else who couldn't withstand the heat.

Al panicked as the intensity of the heat reached her even from that distance, but it was the rage in Jack's empty eye sockets — like a cornered animal ready to strike — and Al knew she had to stop him. Not giving it a second thought, Al dove in front of the Fire King. Her distraction caught both skeletons off guard. She froze for a moment before darting toward the barrier, hoping that Jack would catch her idea and go along with it. By some miracle her movements registered through, and Jack gave a curt nod before blasting the Fire King with a barrage of fireballs. The fire bounced off the Fire King's armor, providing Jack and Al with the chance to slip over to Spiral Hill. When its vision cleared, the Fire King roared and chased after them.

When Al and Jack reached the top, Jack turned to Al. "What's the plan?" he asked, his demonic form causing his voice to hiss.

Al paused. "The Fire King is so large that it should short-circuit the barrier, breaking it. In turn, the barrier will kill the Fire King in the explosion," she explained. "Two birds, one stone."

"Good plan," Jack hissed.

Jack and Al quickly readied themselves as the Fire King approached. It leapt into the air and landed behind Jack and Al. Al smirked. This thing was making her plan too easy. She held out her hand to hold Jack back as the Fire King reformed its defensive shell. She stepped out to face the creature, slowing retrieving her halberd. Then, she charged at the skeleton, racing it towards it like a jouster. The Fire King dropped its sword to a defensive position to deflect the girl's attack. But instead of jabbing the blade into the sword, Al stuck it into the ground and pole-vaulted herself over the Fire King's head. She landed on the other side, and quickly picked herself. She turned around to find the Fire King staring at her, having been caught off guard, and in the process lowering its defenses enough for its shield to disappear.

"Surprise!"

Before the Fire King could react, Jack blasted it from behind, sending the King Skeleton straight into the barrier. It roared as the barrier sent electric currents throughout its body, unable to move as Jack continued to pour his power into pushing the Fire King into the barrier. Finally, the energy became too much and the Fire King exploded. The force of the blast knocked both Jack and Will back, as well as destroyed the controller for the barrier. When the dust finally settled, Al slowly sat up and looked around.

"Woohoo!" Al said, leaping up and fist pumping the air. "It actually worked!"

As she settled down, Al spotted something of the corner of her eye. The object was large and green, and it was sticking out among the rubble. "What be this?" She walked over and started digging through the broken stone until she could see the object. "Oh, it couldn't be…" she gasped. "Christmas Door!"

She pulled the door up and smiled. "I found the Christmas Door!" But no one answered her. She looked around and saw that Jack was nowhere in sight. "Seriously… Now, I'm talking to myself…again…"

While Al had been digging through the rumble, Jack had rushed back to where Al had left Will and Sally. The two were sitting on the ground. Will had shifted back to her human form, and retrieved Sally's torn limbs while Al and Jack had distracted the Fire King. She was laying them out to make sure not one had been missed. Beside her, Sally was lying against the broken tombstone, her left arm resting in her lap as she held something small in her hand. Frank was the first to sense his presence. The kelpie pinned back his ears, threatening to attack, but kept himself ready to run away quickly. Jack was still in his fire demon form, so Frank was uneasy as he came closer. Jack approached slowly, cautiously extending his hands towards Frank. Frank tentatively stuck out his nose and drew back. He recognized the skeleton's scent, but he was not about to get burned. Jack lowered his hand, his gaze turning on Sally and Will as he slowly returned to his old self.

Will looked up and smiled at him. "Jack, you're okay!" she exclaimed. "You really had us worried there."

Jack only nodded for his eyes never left Sally. She was smiling at him, but he was heartbroken. When she had turned to look at him, Jack could see how badly she had been injured. She had managed to reattach her left arm and hand back on, and re-stitch the left side of her mouth, but her legs and right arm were lying off to the side, and the right side of her face was still hanging off.

"I'm glad you're all right, Jack," she said, smiling brightly at him. As she looked up, Jack noticed her right eye was missing. It was then he noticed the object she was holding was her eye. He started to reach out his hand to caress her cheek, but instantly dropped his hand.

"Sally, I'm so… I'm so… Oh, how could I have let this happen?" He fell to his knees as the grief overtook him. "Sally, I am so sorry that this happened."

"Oh Jack, please," Sally pleaded. She set her eye in her lap, and reached for his hand. "I'm all right, really. A few stitches and I'll be just fine."

"We would've had her patched up by now, but her thread kinda got lost," Will added in. "I only found enough to fix her arm, but we'll need to go back to Halloween Town to get more."

"Hey!" Al yelled, interrupting the conversation. She was dragging the Christmas Door behind her. "Someone want to help a girl out here?! Geez, even Loki would lend me a hand by now."

"Hold on, I got ya." Will stood up and walked over to Al. She had retrieved the shrinking potion from her backpack and poured a drop on the Christmas Door. "There, now we have all the doors."

"Finally!" Al said, walking over and throwing her arm over Frank's neck. "You all good Frankie? No, no. Jack won't hurt you, baby boy."

Jack smiled. _Now we have all the Holiday Doors…_ he thought. _We've got to hurry to Christmas Town!_ But then he looked back at Sally, their hands still tightly clasped together. He knew he had to stop Oogie but Jack just couldn't bring himself to leave Sally's side. Finally, he made a decision. Without a word, Jack swept Sally into his arms, stood up, and carried her to Frank. Al moved to the side as Jack gently set Sally on Frank's back, and then gathered up her limbs in Will's backpack. He turned around to see Will and Al looking at him strangely.

"What's up, Jack?" Will asked.

"You two aren't going to like this," Jack said. "We need to split up."

"WHAT?!" both girls screamed in unison. Al was fuming. "No! I don't split up! It is a major **NO WAY!**" she screamed.

"We don't have any other choice," Jack argued. "Oogie must be stopped, but I won't have Sally going back to town by herself in her condition."

"As much as I want to disagree, Jack has a point," Will said, trying to reason with her best friend. "Don't give me that look. Now, you two are the ones with weapons, so I'll take Sally back to town, and meet up with you and Jack in Christmas Town once she's fixed. That okay, Al?"

Al grumbled but nodded. Will smiled and took her backpack from Jack. She saw the look on his face as she slipped on her pack, and she gave his arm a gentle pat. "Don't worry, Jack, I'll take care of her," Will promised.

Jack smiled back at her, then turned back to Sally. She had popped her eye back in place and she was smiling at him. This time he did reach up and set his hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, placing her hand over his. There was so much they wanted to say and not enough time to say it all.

Will hoped onto Frank's back behind Sally. They waved goodbye before Will gently kicked his sides and Frank took off. Jack looked on for a moment, then turned away to follow Al into the Hinterlands.

**XXX**

(Jack's POV)

I knew Al was struggling to keep up, but I couldn't bring myself to slow down. I kept on running through the Hinterlands, letting nothing stop me from getting to Christmas Town. All my focus was on defeating Oogie Boogie and getting back home to Sally. The image of her torn face looking back at me as Will rose them back to Halloween Town still burned at the front of my mind.

And I had almost lost her.

I don't remember the transformation. All I could see, all I could think about was Sally lying on the ground, torn and broken. I only wanted to keep her safe and she had been caught in the crossfire. After that, all I could see was red.

The Ice King was quick to finish off, easily melting under my flame. The Fire King, however, was more of a challenge. The creature only fed off my Pumpkin Fire. I nearly lost control when it became impenetrable to my attacks. Just when I was about to completely lose control, Al appeared and stopped me from burning down the entire Graveyard. She was able to help me come to my senses enough to trick the Fire King and drive it into the barrier. The force destroyed not only the Fire King, but the barrier as well, revealing the hidden Christmas Door. To think Oogie had used the Christmas Door to create a barrier to keep me from getting to Sandy Claws. I would not let him get away with it.

I continued down the path, slashing at Oogie's spiders until we finally reached the Seven Holiday Door Circle. Al paused behind me, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. "Geez man…" she said breathing hard. "For not having muscles, you sure move fast. Phew! I'm gonna need another nap after this"

"All I have to do is put the Holiday Doors back up, and they'll be good as new," I told her. Just as I reached for the doors inside my jacket pocket, we were attacked. It seemed Oogie had devised a backup trigger incase we found the Christmas Door. I counted at least three ghosts, five Gumbies and Vampire teddy bears, four Fire Skeletons, two Troll Skeletons, and about forty Zombie Skeletons.

Al groaned and readied her weapons. "Joy to the world…" she said, a hint of song in her voice.

Before she took a step forward, I held my hand up for her to stay put. I could still feel some of the Crystal Skull's power within me. I transformed into my Pumpkin King persona and brought up a wall of fire, instantly incinerating all the creatures. Only the ghost managed to escape, but I allowed Al to take care of those while I replaced the Holiday Doors. Once I had Halloween, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter back where they belonged, I took out the Christmas Door and placed it back into the tree. The Hinterlands regained their color, and the Christmas Door opened, the wintery breeze drawing us in.

"Well that was effective… Are we going in there?" Al asked, replacing her halberd on her back.

"Yes."

"Happy days," Al said, rolling her shoulders.

Without another word, I jumped down the Christmas Door. Many thoughts pasted through my mind as I was pulled by the flurry of snow. Oogie had nearly destroyed Halloween Town, enslaved all my friends, imprisoned the other Holiday Leaders, and was at this moment causing destruction to Christmas Town. He had harmed so many and cared nothing for what he had done. Even my poor Sally was not able to escape his cruelty.

Oogie's monsters had done that to my beloved, and I was going to make sure he paid.

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Dang, the plot bunnies were super vicious in this chapter. I do apologize.

**CosmicHorse:** No kidding. Poor Frank… *****glares daggers of death*****

**GodlyJewel:** Again, I apologize. At least Frank got a Crystal Skull healing. Poor Sally needs to go back to Finklestein's for a major repair job.

**CosmicHorse:** I forgive you…for now.

**GodlyJewel:** Yay! Sorry to the readers, but you'll have to wait another chapter. Till then, please leave reviews and let us know how you like how the story is going so far.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: The Other Holidays**

(Will's POV)

_Halloween Town…_

It felt weird heading back to town without Jack and Al, but Sally was in serious need of repair. I had to keep Frank at an even pace so Sally wouldn't loose any more leaves, so it was taking us a little longer to get back.

Sally was quiet the whole time. Once in a while she would look at me and smile, but I could see the worry in her eyes…uh, eye. The one had popped out again so I put it in my backpack for safekeeping. Even with the one eye, her concern was obvious. I imagine she was thinking about Jack. They really had to set aside some quality time together once all this madness was over. Maybe I should pull out some old tactics from Operation Mistletoe to set them up on a Date Night. They deserved it. So far today they'd been reunited and separated at least three or four times, and both of them had taken pretty bad beatings. At least Sally didn't feel any pain, and I guessed that Jack's injuries healed after the Crystal Skull gave him a power up.

I tried to reassure her by placing a hand on her shoulder. Sally smiled and placed her hand over mine, but I knew she wouldn't stop worrying until Jack came back safely.

Frank whinnied as we entered town and made our way towards Doctor Finklestein's manor. Before we got to the gate, I veered Frank off course and had him walk us over to the fountain. I slid off Frank's back and took off my backpack to take out the empty Crystal Bottles. I filled the bottles and placed them back in my pack. I thought about climbing back on Frank but went against it, and just started walking towards the laboratory. As we approached the door of Finklestein's manor, I led the kelpie inside and up the ramp. We had just gotten to the top when Finklestein rolled out of Jewel's room.

"Ah, Will. Good to see you," he said, though he frowned when he noticed Frank. "What is this creature doing in my laboratory?"

"Sorry but I needed Frank's help getting Sally in here." With that said, I turned Frank around so the mad doctor could assess the damage. He gasped when he saw Sally's mangled body. Without another word he ushered us into his lab. Frank was too big to fit in the elevator, so I had to carry Sally in my arms. Once we were in the lab, Finklestein had me set Sally on the operating table.

He immediately began examining her, but instead of worrying, the old doctor was practically scolding the poor woman. "Just look at this! Half your stuffing is gone, and you've torn several of your stitches. Why, just look at your eye! And… Is this frost?" Finklestein asked, holding up a frozen leaf from Sally's torn side. "How on earth did this happen?"

"Take it easy on her, Doc," I said. "The poor girl's had a hard enough day without you screaming like a banshee at her." I took off my backpack and began setting Sally's limbs next to her on the table. "To summarize a few minutes ago, Oogie sent these giant monsters to destroy Jack, and Sally got hit trying to help," I explained. "Jack and Al are on their way to Christmas Town, but Jack had me bring Sally here. I definitely wouldn't wanna be Oogie Boogie right now."

Finklestein didn't respond and turned his focus back to Sally. "Hmm, despite these tears, at least no severe damage was done. Though, I am grateful to see you're all right, my dear," Finklestein muttered to Sally. Though I'm sure he didn't mean to say it aloud, needless to say I was shocked. He wheeled himself over to me and took my backpack, sorting through it to see how many leaves I had managed to salvage, muttering to himself, "Hmm, I'll need to send Igor out to gather more leaves."

"I'm sorry, I must have some ice shards or brimstone stuck in my ear," I joked. "But did you just sound…concerned? I mean, genially concerned?"

Finklestein growled but I saw a faint tiny of pink on his cheeks. He wheeled himself out of the lab, muttering about going to search for Igor. Sally and I looked at each other and started laughing.

"Oh! I almost forgot." I grabbed my backpack from the table and pulled out Sally eye from the side pocket. "Better take this out so Finklestein doesn't have to get you a new eye."

"Thanks. You know, you could go if you want," Sally suggested. "It won't take long for Doctor Finklestein to put me back together. If you hurry, you can still catch up to Jack and Al."

I thought it over, but shook my head. "I think I'd better stick around in case Jack asks for an update," I said. "In the meantime…" I shifted into a bat and stretched out my wings. I had to admit it was actually getting easier between shifts. I made a jump and hoped up onto Sally's shoulder. "In the words of Al: Nap Time!"

I flapped my wings and flew down the elevator shaft. Looking around, I decided the best place to sleep would be up in the rafters. I flew up there and settled myself on a perch overlooking the ramp. Wrapping my wings around myself like a blanket, I was just about to relax, when…

"Right this way, gentlemen," the all too familiar voice of the Mayor called out. Curiosity piqued, I peeked out through my wings and saw the Mayor holding open Finklestein's front door as he shouted, "Jack! I rescued all the Holiday Leaders!"

As the Mayor spoke, in walked in five figures. The first was an elderly man with a short gray full beard. He was wearing a miter with a cross in the center, a shamrock green chasuble, tawny sandals, and holding a golden crozier in his left hand. Following him was another elderly gentleman with white hair and goatee, but he was dressed more flamboyant in a white collar shirt, red bow tie, navy blue jacket, red and white vertical-striped pants, and black shoes, completed with a white top hat with a wide navy blue stripe and large white stars. Behind them was a slender winged, androgynous youth with golden tanned skin and curly chocolate-brown hair just touching his shoulders. He wore a short white chiton with silver and red trim pinned over his left shoulder, and tied with a silver flat braid belt. He wasn't wearing any shoes, so he hovered rather than walked with his large, white-feathered wings. The last to walk through the door were a duo of large animals: a plump, stocky turkey with iridescent and heavily patterned plumage, wearing a pilgrim hat and a white sash reading 'Happy Thanksgiving', and a pink bunny with a similar sash that read 'Happy Easter'.

I was a little in shock. I just couldn't believe who walked in. I mean I recognized the Easter Bunny from last year, so the guy dressed like an American flag had to be Uncle Sam, and the angel was obviously Cupid. That meant the turkey and the bishop ruled Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day.

The Mayor shut the door behind them and quickly ran to the front to lead the Holiday Leaders up the ramp, though the turkey and bunny were closely huddled together and shivering in fear. I was about to fly down to greet them when I was bombarded by yips and a wet tongue.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

"Ah! Okay, Zero, okay!" I laughed as the ghostly pup continued licking my face. "I'm happy to see you too."

I shifted halfway so I could give him a scratch behind the ears before he backed off. I unhooked my talons from the support beam, and glided down to the top of the ramp to greet the Mayor. I shifted back to normal just as he reached the top. "Hey there, Mayor," I greeted.

He was startled at first, but quickly spun his head to give me his pleasant smile. "Oh, Will," he said, still slightly surprised. "Nice to see you. I saw you walking in here, and I thought I'd let Jack know I have all the Holiday Leaders."

"I can see that," I said, looking over his shoulder. "Look, Jack's not here at the moment, so you can probably take these guys back to their worlds now."

"What?! Not here? This is a catastrophe!" The Mayor's head spun about as panic over took his thinking. He began pacing about wildly, babbling on how he was only an elected official and whatnot. To make matters worse, his frantic actions freaked the Easter Bunny and the Thanksgiving Turkey out.

Annoyed, I turned to the Holiday Leaders with an apologetic smile and a nervous laugh. Well, the Mayor wasn't going to be of any help, and since I was the only one able to talk at the moment, I took it upon myself to entertain.

"Evening, gentlemen," I said. "On behalf of Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King and ruler of Halloween Town, I would like to extend his apologies for the…inconvenience." It was lame, but it was the best I could come up with on the spot. "I'm sure you're all probably wondering what's going on, but please let me assure you, that we shall provide each of you with safe passage back to your holidays, and the creature responsible for this is being dealt with. I also will personally see to it that Jack sends each of you his most sincere apologies for the all the trouble. If there's anything you need, or would like me to pass on, feel free to say so."

The three human leaders looked at each other curiously while the animals continued shivering in a corner. I felt like I could slap myself. That had to be the lamest thing anyone could say. I looked up and noticed the bishop had walked in front of me, and then he placed his hand on my shoulder. He smiled at me with kind eyes.

"Thank ya for the warm welcome, lassie, but we understand this is not the work of the Samhain King," he said with a slight Irish accent. "Nicholas already warned me of your friends misfortune last year, so I hold no ill will towards this Holiday's ruler."

"Well that's good, but how did you know about that?" I asked. "I thought none of the holidays knew about each other."

The old bishop laughed. "Do you not know who I speak of, lass? You meet Nicholas for yourself last Christmas Eve."

I paused to think over it until that little light bulb went off in my head. Of course, Santa Claus! The original St. Nick was a Greek Christian bishop, who gave gifts to the poor, but over time his story become the commercialized jolly elf who delivered presents with flying reindeer. If that was true, then the Irish bishop before me had to be… "You're Saint Patrick!"

"Ai lass," St. Patrick replied with a smile.

"This is unreal! I mean, to think you and Santa are the real deal," I exclaimed. "I mean, of course you're real, I just meant like you're the actual saints. But wait, uh… I thought… I mean, when I saw Santa and Jack I thought the Holiday Leaders would be more, you know, the commercialized versions. I mean Cupid and the Easter Bunny are standing behind you." I pointed as the specified characters.

"That is true," St. Patrick replied, then turned back to me. "Though I cannot account for the bony rabbit, I can tell ya that the winged lad is not the ruler of Valentine's Day."

"He's not?"

"Now Patty, don't be so cruel. I am the Prince of Love, after all," the winged angel piped in. The moment he spoke, I freaked and hid behind St. Patrick. That voice; he sounded like the English version of Tamaki from _Ouran High School Host Club_! I watched as he turned to continue speaking to the saint. "Besides, I was pairing young lovers long before Valentine took the King's spot, so it's only natural mortals think of me, the Prince, as the ruler of the Holiday of Love.

"Now lad, I meant no disrespect," St. Patrick replied. "But you and I both know that Valentine is the leader. For pity sake, it tis his holiday, Eros."

"Hold it," I said, coming out of hiding. "Are you two telling me that Valentine, the Saint Valentine; Roman saint imprisoned and killed for performing secret weddings to soldiers, is the official ruler of Valentine's Day?"

Cupid turned to reply but once he locked his spring blue eyes on me, I tensed. Next thing I know, the guy is in my face with my hand in his, and his other hand wrapped around my shoulder. "Ahh Princess, forgive me for being so rude," he said in a charming manor. "Allow me to introduce myself: Eros, god of Love. I must say, someone as lovely as you should not be trapped amongst these monstrous creatures; you deserve to be surrounded by beauty equal to your own. Why, if only I had a rose to gift you, but then nothing could compare to such an enchanting beauty."

"… Aren't you married?" I asked, desperately praying he would leave me alone.

Eros stared at me for a moment, completely thrown off by my comment. "Well…yes," he answered. "But–" turning back on the charm "–my lovely Psyche knows she's my one and only love. In fact, thinking of my beautiful wife helps me entertain such exquisite young ladies as yourself."

He kissed the back of my hand, and instantly I removed myself from his grasp. "Okay, breach of boundaries," I warned. "Sorry, pal. Those lines may work on some bubble brained idiots, but I don't fall for corny pickup lines."

"Corny…?" Eros actually looked like he'd been stunned. St. Patrick started laughing, and Uncle Sam threw his arm around his shoulders.

"Well son," he said with a strong southern accent. "Looks like this little filly ain't fallin' fer that fancy talk. Judging by that look, it must be the first time."

"I don't think you'll be charming this one, lad," St. Patrick added before turning to me. "Ya all right, lassie? I know Eros can be a wee bit overbearing when he gets in one of his spells."

"Fine, I'm fine, but uh… Is he always like that?" I asked.

"Nah, but he was worse before he got hitched," Sam answered. "Match anyone up with just about anyone or anything till one woman stirred him. But you must not have a fella. This young buck tends ta stir up trouble if he spots a little lady without a beau."

At that moment, Eros wriggled free of Sam's grasp and fluttered back over to me. I took a few steps back, feeling my fangs sharpen as he tried to nonchalantly get closer. "Honestly, I just can't help myself," he started to say. "It is my duty to match every princess to the perfect charming prince. Yes, I know what you must be thinking. My stories speak of my golden arrows of love, and I still use them, but it just seems more natural to charm ladies and save my arrows for stubborn men. I'm not complaining. Only now St. Valentine makes the matches and sends me to bring those couples together. Honestly, I'm perfectly capable of setting matches."

"Okay then…" I slipped back as Eros continued to babble on, not noticing no one seemed interested in his life story. As I looked around the group, I noticed that we were short a few Holiday Leaders. "Hey, anybody see where our animal leaders disappeared to?" I asked.

"Oh no! Now I've lost two of the Holiday Leaders! What will Jack say?!" the Mayor shrieked. He started hyperventilating and running around in circles.

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something, when I heard a large crash come from the elevator shaft, followed by a series of curses and barking. Well, sounds like Zero found them for me. I turned around to see everyone (aside from the still pacing Mayor) looking at me with concern. "Umm… I'll be right back. Just, wait here."

I excused myself from the group and took the elevator up to the lab. When I reached the top, it was hard not to laugh at the mess I saw. The entire floor was covered with autumn leaves, and Igor was hurrying to pick them all up while Doctor Finkelstein was shouting up at his machine. I looked up and saw the Thanksgiving Turkey was huddled up in the mechanism, shivering and gobbling frantically. Meanwhile, I spotted Zero barking at the examination table where Sally was strapped down. Her severed limbs were laid out on a table beside her, and it looked like Finkelstein had already sewn her face back together, and her eye was back in place as well. She smiled at me and pointed underneath the table where I noticed a large bundle of pink fur hiding.

"Igor!" Finkelstein shouted at his assistant. "Get these good-for-nothing creatures out of my laboratory at once! And get these leaves cleaned up."

"Yes, Master," Igor replied. He abandoned the leaves and ran over with his broom. "Shoo! Shoo! Master say you leave!"

"Igor, that's not helping," I told him. I walked over and took the broom from his hand. "Rabbits and turkeys need a more gentle approach." Very slowly, I set the broom to the side and crouched down, trying my best not to make a sound so that I could coax him out. Taking note of my approach, Zero floated over to Sally to give the Easter Bunny some space.

"It's all right now, Easter Bunny," I said gently. "There's nothing to be afraid of. The Doctor won't experiment on you, I promise. He's just cranky." I heard Finkelstein huff behind me, but I ignored him, and held out my hand towards the frightened rabbit. "I know you've been here before, and it's not your favorite place, but if you come out now, we can take you back home where you belong."

Slowly the Easter Bunny poked his little nose out and cautiously started sniffing around. He was trembling like he did the first time he was brought here, but he seemed calmed a bit by my tone. I smiled when he nudged my hand, coming completely out from under the lab table. I pet his head and gently led him back to the elevator, pushing the down button. Now all I had to do was get the turkey down from the ceiling. Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem. I walked under the machine and looked up at the frightened fowl.

"Anyone got any ideas how to get this guy down?" I asked, though not to anyone in particular.

"Perhaps you could lure him down," Sally suggested.

"That would be great," I said, "if we had some nuts or seeds."

"Haven't you gotten that blasted creature out of my lab?" Dr. Finkelstein demanded.

"Working on it," I shouted back.

"Well, I don't have all night," he retorted, wheeling his way over. "I still need to patch Sally back together, and in case you forgot, my precious Jewel is still recovering from her ordeal. I cannot be in two places at once."

"Doc, that screaming is not gonna help us get this guy out of your lab. Maybe instead of shouting out complaints like a crotchety old man, you could try, I don't know, helping."

"Hold on there, missy," someone called. I looked over to see the other Holiday Leaders stepping out of the elevator. Uncle Sam was the one speaking. "Ain't no way to speak ta someone," he scolded.

"I thought I told you guys to wait downstairs."

"We thought we might lend a hand, lass," St. Patrick said, before looking up. "Though, I think that pup has beaten us to it."

I turned around to see Zero had snuck up behind the turkey, and gave a loud bark. Startled, the turkey let out a yelp and flapped down toward the other Holiday Leaders. Uncle Sam quickly grabbed a hold of the turkey's neck. "Easy there, partner, we don't wanna hurt cha."

I sighed in relief. "Well, that takes care of one problem. Now we just need to get the five of you back home, so I can hurry back and help Jack and Al take care of Oogie before he ruins Christmas."

"We'd be happy to follow you anywhere, Princess," Eros cooed, flying over and taking my hand again. "Surely someone so clever knows the way back to our worlds."

"Okay, that really needs to stop," I said, shoving him away.

"Will, who are your friends?" Sally asked.

"And would you get them out of my lab!" Dr. Finklestein shouted. "This is not a waiting room, you know."

"Well, well," Eros replied, moving over to Sally. "And who might you be, fair creature? I must say, I never thought such sweetness could reside in such a horrifying environment." He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"Oh, uh…t-thank you," Sally replied, blushing from the attention.

I walked over to them, grabbing Eros by the wing and pulling him back towards the group. "Back off, buddy, she's spoken for." I dumped him next to Uncle Sam before turning back to Sally. Note to self: ask Santa to give Psyche a monkey leash, and maybe a remote control shock collar. "And yes, Sally, these are the rest of the Holiday Leaders," I said, pointing at each one as I introduced them. "Meet Saint Patrick of St. Patrick's Day, Uncle Sam of Independence Day; the turkey and bunny are from Thanksgiving and Easter. And you've meet Eros, poster boy for Valentine's Day. Gentlemen — and Eros — allow me to introduce my good friend, Sally."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Sally smiled. "I hope you won't think ill of Jack for this. Here in Halloween Town, we never try to harm anyone; we only scare people for fun."

"Quite alright, little lady," Uncle Sam replied, tipping his hat. "The little filly already explained that. Though, perhaps once this mess is sorted, we might have a talk with that Jack feller of yours about keeping this sorta thing from happening again."

"That might not be a bad idea, Sam," St. Patrick agreed. "I'll speak with Nicolas and Valentine about it."

"Okay, not to be rude, but think we could discuss this later?" I interrupted. "We still have a psycho maniac trying to destroy Christmas."

"We've got bigger problems than that!" someone shouted. We all turned to see the Mayor come racing out of the elevator, his face still looking panicked. "The witches were just at the door. They were working on a spell when a vision appeared in their caldron. They said half of Christmas Town is destroyed, and Oogie has Sandy Claws tied up while his goons are gathering up all the presents. He's going to destroy them all."

"Great! As if we didn't have enough on your plate," I groaned. Zero whimpered and flew over to me, nuzzling my hand in an attempt to cheer me up. I smiled and patted his head. Now was not the time to let panic take over; we needed a plan. I turned to the Mayor, taking charge over this operation.

"Mayor, you've got to take the leaders back to their worlds. Zero knows the way so we can follow him. Frank and I will tag along and get to Christmas Town to help Jack and Al."

"You'll never make it in time," Dr. Finklestein argued. "Even with a guide, walking through the Hinterlands will take too long on foot, not to mention you'll need to find both Jack and Al, and Oogie."

"Well, we could take the Mayor's hearse," I suggested. "That should get us through the Hinterlands in no time, right Mayor?"

"I wish I could help, but I'm afraid I can't," the Mayor regrettably replied. "Even if I could fit everyone, my hearse is indisposed. Boogie's boys completely ruined my car, filling the gas tank with swamp muck and caramel."

"Well, that's just great. You, got any better ideas, Doc?" I asked, turning towards Finklestein.

"Indeed I do. Igor!" Without another word, Dr. Finklestein wheeled himself into his private lab with Igor close behind him. There was some shouting and crashing, before they returned. Igor came out pushing a wagon full stuff: bones, neck straps, breast collars, buckles, reigns, and a bunch of other harness pieces. Along with that, Igor was also tugging out a familiar structure behind him. Though the coffin seat and garbage can holder were torn off, the frame was only slightly burned and bent in a few places.

I frowned. "I thought Jack was supposed to get rid of that after he got it back from the graveyard."

"Be glad he didn't," Dr. Finklestein replied. "The reindeer are still in pieces, and some parts are missing from the frame, but it can still function for transport."

Despite how I felt about Jack wanting to rebuild this sleigh, it actually didn't surprise me all that much that he had it. Everything else seemed to follow the video game, aside from a few details, so why not have the sleigh be here too. And seeing the sleigh there gave me another idea.

"Doc, do you think you could get this thing airborne again?" I asked, curiously looking over it.

"Child, it was simple enough the first time, I could do again blindfolded," he boasted. "However, the time it would take to complete both the sleigh, and reconstruct the reindeer is time I don't have."

"Easy fix." I walked over to the wagon and pulled out some of the harness parts before turning around to address the Mayor. "Mayor, think you can handle the reigns?" I asked.

To my relief, his face spun around to smile at me. "It just so happens I can," he replied. "I used to drive around in a carriage before I got my hearse."

"Great! Now, here's how this'll work," I explained. "Luckily, Al showed me how to hook up a horse, so I'll take the sleigh and hook up it up to Frank. You guys–" pointing to the Holiday Leaders "–will ride in the back. Mayor, I want you to handle the reigns. Just follow Zero and he'll get you here and back in no time."

"What about you, lass?" St. Patrick asked. "Aren't ya coming with us?"

"Nope. I'll stay behind and give Dr. Finklestein a hand," I answered. "I figured he can work on getting the deer and the sleigh parts working again, and I can help out by putting Sally back together, and checking in on Jewel. If that's okay with you, Doc?"

"Hmm… Very well," Finklestein muttered. "Igor, come! We have work to do." Finklestein wheeled back into his private lab, while Igor grabbed the reindeer bones from the wagon before joining his master.

"Okay, he's taken care of. Sally, I'll be right back," I told her.

Then, taking the harness parts with me, I turned and asked the guys to bring down the sleigh before I walked back to the elevator. Zero joined me, and we went down first where I was greeted by a happy Frank, nickering and coming towards me with his scaly ears pointed forward. I patted his nose and turned as the elevator went up and then came back down with only the sleigh in it. I had Frank take the rope in his teeth and we pulled it down the ramp, and outside to the front of the manor. While waiting for the leaders, I hooked Frank up to the sleigh. As I was tightening the reins, Zero barked as the Mayor and the Holiday Leaders came out of the door. I stepped back so the Mayor could handle the reigns. The Easter Bunny and Thanksgiving Turkey were the first to board the sleigh, all too eager to be out of Halloween Town.

Uncle Sam was next, pausing to shake my hand. "Well, it was fine meetin' ya, little lady," he said before stepping on the sleigh. "You're welcome over in Independence Town anytime."

"Thanks. Think I could bring my friend, Al?" I asked.

"You bet."

I smiled and turned to St. Patrick. "Again, really sorry about all this."

"Not ta worry, Will," he said. "Thank you for all your help."

I smiled and chuckled. "It was nothing, I was happy to help."

"Gah! I can't stand it!" Eros yelled. No sooner had he said it, the winged player had me scooped up in his arms and spinning me around in the air. "That was simply adorable. Too cute! I knew instantly you were beautiful, but that smile of yours is just about the cutest thing!"

"Help me!" I yelled, though my plea was muffled against his chiton.

Fortunately, Zero and Frank heard me. Zero growled and barked at Eros, but it was Frank who got Eros to release me by biting the angel on the leg. He let out a yelp and halfway through another spin, he let go and sent me flying. I fell to the ground, but aside from being sore, it was better then being squeezed to death. Zero flew down to me and licked my cheek. I smiled at the pup and picked myself up, sidestepping a whimpering Eros, and gave Frank a rewarding rub to the forehead, and a kiss between his eyes.

"Thank, buddy, but next time, don't be afraid to bite him in the ass." I received an appreciative whinny from the kelpie. I gave him another pat before turning my attention back to St. Patrick. He was helping Eros into the sleigh, and turned with an apologetic smile.

I smiled and shook my head, letting him know no harm done. Then the Mayor signal it was time to head out. Zero took his place in front of Frank as the Mayor cracked the reigns. I waved them off and as soon as they were out of sight, I headed back inside to the manor. As I made my way back up to the lab, I wondered how Al and Jack were doing in Christmas Town. I just hope they could hold out until I could get there.

**XXX**

**CosmicHorse:** Where was my Ally girl?

**Eros:** I must say, you and your character were dearly missed. But since you're here, I would like to ask you how well you are doing with that young man I matched you with.

**CosmicHorse:** Um…who are you and why are you winged?

**Eros:** Forgive me, Princess. My name is Eros, god of Love.

**GodlyJewel:** Hey, you're supposed to be back in your world.

**Eros:** True but there was one last bit of business I need to take care of beforehand.

**GodlyJewel:** Meaning…?

**Eros:** *****pulls out an arrow and shoots*****

**GodlyJewel:** *****ducks***** Ha! Missed!

**Eros:** Did I? *****smug grin and flies off*****

**GodlyJewel:** … What did you mea– Hey! Get back here! *****runs after*****

**CosmicHorse:** Ooo, something's about to go down!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: ****Decoration Disaster**

(Al's POV)

_Christmas Town…_

The trip down the Christmas Door was insane. I felt like Alice when she fell into Wonderland…only it was cold. I don't like cold. And to make it worse, I landed in a freaking snow patch! Now see, if Frank was here, I wouldn't be buried in snow. Sadly, my new kelpie was back in Halloween Town helping out Will. Oh well. As I dusted myself off, I spotted Jack standing about five feet in front of me. "Cold snow? Not the best way to end that wild ride."

Apparently Jack didn't hear me. His gaze was practically glued on whatever was ahead. "Oh no! I've got to hurry!" he said, mostly to himself. Then without warning, he just took off down the hill, leaving me behind. Again! What is with this guy leaving me behind? And if things weren't bad enough, as soon as I get up and start to follow him, I hear this:

_Oh no! Oh no!  
__There's trouble everywhere!  
__Oh no!  
__There's smoke clouds in the air!  
__Oh no!  
__I can't believe my eyes  
__I have to help them  
__Hurry Jack, they wouldn't dare!  
__Oh no!_

_Oh no! Oh no!  
__There's something very wrong!  
__Oh no!  
__These things here don't belong!_

_Oh no!  
__The streets are lined with  
__Little creatures crying  
__All the others must be hiding  
__Christmas spirit is subsiding!  
__Oh no!  
__Oh no!_

Singing… He had to be singing. I tried to block it out as I ran after him.

_The joyous decorations here  
__Are melting from the fire!  
__No doubt the work of Oogie Boogie!  
__Drat that no good liar!_

_There's fear in every window!  
__Oh, I can't believe my eyes!  
__And in my bones I feel the urge  
__To cut him down to size!_

_And there! Oh no!  
__His monsters have control!  
__Look out!  
__It chills me to my soul!  
__No more!  
__They're getting the presents to ignite them!  
__Don't they know who they are for? Oh no!_

_Oh no!  
__He's here! It's all part of his plan!  
__The nerve!  
__He's really gone too far!  
__This time!_

_It's up to me to put a stop to this  
__Now is my chance I cannot miss!  
__This town's counting on me!  
__So I must take charge and let them know!  
__The time is now  
__For them to go!  
__Or when to start in such a mess!  
__Oh no!_

Okay, how long was this gonna go on? I was about ready to use Macho Baby to zap myself unconscious.

When I finally got to the bottom of the hill, I saw the damage that had been done. Old Bones was right; the whole place was a wreck! Thick black smoke rose into the air from the larger building in the back, but I was only looking at the damage done to the Plaza. All seemed quiet, but I wouldn't let my guard down. The mini trees seemed fine from where I was standing, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the buildings. Though the lack of light in the windows suggested either no one was home, or the people living there were hiding and hoping no one would search the house. I walked forward a little bit and stopped when I caught a view of the carousal. The thing had been repainted gray and purple with sickly green lights, and penguins with sharp fangs and evil Barney colored cats replaced the Christmas critters from the movie.

And to top it all off, the big Christmas tree standing in the center of the Plaza had been completely redecorated. There were spiders and centipede garlands, along with glowing black skulls and twitching eyeballs. Cringing, I turned back to my search for any signs of life, but the whole area seemed like a Ghost Town, a wintery Ghost Town. The only sound was coming from Pixilated Pansy who was still prance dancing around like songbird, and not giving a rat's ass about the main problem.

_Hmm… Maybe I should just use Macho Baby on him_, I thought.

_Oh no, what now?  
__The peaceful town is ruined!  
__And look, the Christmas tree is bare!  
__Attacked! By someone, welcomed fiends!  
__I tell you I will snare them  
__And make sure they pay for their  
__Outlandish rude behavior  
__Oh no!_

_The cheerfulness is missing  
__And the wonder isn't here!  
__And in their place there seems to be  
__A paralyzing fear!_

_Instead of songs, I swear  
__I can just hear screaming in the air!  
__The stench of Oogie Boogie  
__Is absolutely everywhere_

_The ghosts, the ghouls!  
__They're everywhere and all around  
__I've never felt so sad before!  
__This happy place in front of me is being trashed  
__So greedily, so greedily!_

_It's tragic! Oh, it's tragic!  
__I can't stand and watch it burn!  
__I've got to save this Christmas Town!  
__And seize these monsters lying all about!  
__This must stop!_

When Jack finally stopped, he turned and met my annoyed expression. "Have we gotten that out of our system now?" I asked sarcastically.

He smiled sheepishly before we continued on. We didn't take more than four steps, when out of nowhere an elf in green pajamas comes running around the corner being chased by a ghost, screaming his tiny head off. The little guy made a beeline for Jack, while I pulled out Macho Baby and quickly dispatched the apparition. I sheathed my weapon and turned around to find Jack on one knee trying to comfort the frightened elf.

"Are you all right?" Jack asked him.

"Yes… No," the elf replied in an annoyingly high-pitched voice. "The Christmas Tree's ruined… Its decorations are scattered everywhere! Can you help us fix it? Please help, sir!"

"Fix a tree? This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder…even without singing…" I said. We really didn't have time for this. And looking at it, despite that unpleasantness, the Christmas tree actually looked pretty cool with the more Halloweenish ornaments. I turned to Jack and saw he looked conflicted. Uh-oh! I know that look. It's the same look Will gets whenever she wants to help someone.

I groaned, giving in. "How many do ya need?"

"W-Well, most of the ornaments we've been able to collect, but what we're really missing are five particular ones," the elf replied. "There's some round red and blue ornaments, a couple stockings, and we're missing a gold candle holder with three white candles. And the last one is the most important: the star."

"Well, looks like we got another Scavenger Hunt. Let's go, Boney Butt." Not even waiting for a reply, I started off. We really didn't have time for this, but if Jack was anything like my Will, I'd never hear the end of it if we didn't help.

"Al, I think I found something," Jack called out. I looked back and saw Jack standing in front of a little Christmas tree. He was holding up a couple red ornaments with purple zigzags on them. "I'll check the rest of the trees for more."

I nodded, and started searching around the Plaza. As I got up close to the carousal, I noticed what I had thought was a gray top was actually a giant Oogie Boogie head grinning in a stupid manner. Well, that needs to die. I was thinking of using Bertha, but decided to save her for the real Boogieman, and used Macho Baby instead. As I reached for my weapon, one of the Barney cats shot a pumpkin at me. I dodged, only to have one of the penguins shoot a fishbone. Every time I stepped in front of one of them, something would be fired at me. Another problem was the things would explode the moment they made contact with something. Every time I moved to avoid being blown up, I'd get sprayed with snow.

"I hate to do this but…" I whipped out my halberd and fired a large electric bolt at the carousal. The bolt hit right in the center where the control panel was, causing the whole thing to explode and crash into the ground. In a way, I kind of felt bad for destroying it.

As I replaced Macho Baby, I noticed a large hole in the roof of the carousal and my curiosity was piqued. I climbed up and peered inside. To my surprise, there was a bunch of red and white Christmas stockings stuffed inside. I quickly grabbed them and started heading back toward the Plaza. Just as I was about to cross over the train tracks, the train came by. I stepped back to avoid being hit, but then I noticed something was riding on the back of the train. I was all ready to take on another enemy, but to my surprise, it was Jack standing on top of the last car, riding it like something out of a theme park.

"Jack, is this really the time for a ride?" I yelled at him, completely annoyed he thought now was a time to play.

"I thought there might be some decorations hidden on the rooftops," he answered, trying to talk as the train took him farther away. "Jumping onto the train was the only way I could quickly check them. I already found the blue ornaments inside the cottage on the hill. All we need now are the candelabras and the star. I'm going on ahead."

"Alright, I'll head your way soon as I drop these off," I called back. I quickly ran back to the Plaza and spotted the elf taking down the Halloween decorations. Though, it looked like he gathered a couple of his buddies because there was a bunch of little elves running around. Some were disposing of Oogie's decorations, while others were busing putting the correct ones back on the tree. The little elf from before — at least, I think it was him — started jumping up and down crazily when I dumped the stockings next to a pile of red and blue ornaments. I didn't stop to chat because we were still missing two more decorations.

I decided to backtrack toward the train tracks, but there were so many that Jack could be anywhere by now. Eventually I just started to walk in the way I thought would be the most direct path. I rounded a corner of a couple buildings and found a dark tunnel where the train must have disappeared. I gulped and drew my chainsaw, not turning it on but letting the fire at least attempt to brighten the darkness. "Gosh I wish Riddick was here…cause I can't see in the dark!" I muttered to myself.

Suddenly I heard a loud crash. There was a large building about five feet away from the tunnel, and the crash sounded like it was coming from there. Hmm… Scary dark tunnel with no way of knowing what's inside, or to a nice lit house where clearly something is waiting inside to eat me. Easy, little house, no contest. Going into the dark tunnel feels too much like being a character in a horror movie, and Heaven knows how I feel about horror movies.

I ran over to the building, and looked up to try to pinpoint where the commotion was coming from. I could see shadows move across the upstairs window, one being particularly thin and boney. I tried the door, and wouldn't you know, locked. Not caring what happened, I revved Bertha and hacked out the door. Luckily, there were no creatures or innocent elves hiding downstairs, so I dashed up the stairs. I followed the sound of stuff breaking and burst into the first room on my left. There I saw Jack battling with five or six skeletal zombies, and a hoard of spiders.

Jack smashed another skeleton with his Soul Robber before he spotted me. "Al, look out for the–" He was cut off as three zombies swarmed him.

I looked around and hacked at a few spiders, but other than that, I couldn't see what he was trying to warn me about. None of the zombies were interested in coming at me, and the only thing nearby were some lame spiders that were easily burnt to a crisp, and a little snowman with a tall green hat and a carrot nose. Wait! What was a snowman doing inside? I took a step closer before it shook and a gruesome black and orange ghost sprang out.

"Good gravy! Possessed Frosty the Snowman!" I started hacking at it with Bertha, but the blade only went through the specter, melting its snowy hiding place. I quickly grabbed my halberd and sliced through it before it could attack. Good thing Macho Baby still had his anti-ghost potion on it. As I exchanged weapons to go_ Texas Chainsaw Massacre_ on those zombies, something shiny caught my eye. I looked over and something was peeking out of the hat and it was reflecting the light from the fireplace. I made a grab for it and found a Crystal Skull hidden away. I snatched it up and used my belt to keep it safe since Will had taken her backpack.

Revving Bertha to kill mode, I quickly went to work helping Jack smash those zombies. It didn't take long before we had those boney rejects reduced to useless bone piles, but not taking any chances, I picked up the bones and tossed them into the fireplace.

"Thank you, Al," Jack said, setting his boney hand on my shoulder. "I spotted three white candles on the window ledge, and I stepped inside hoping to find the candelabra. I wasn't expecting them to be hiding in those little snowmen."

"Really? Snowmen inside didn't seem odd to you?" I asked sarcastically.

Jack chuckled. "I guess not. Ah, here it is!" he exclaimed. Walking past me toward the fireplace and pulled the candelabra out of the garlands. "Wonderful! Now we have all the ornaments."

"What about the star?" I asked.

"Oh, I found that on one of the rooftops while I was riding the train," Jack explained, pulling the star partway out of his jacket. "Now all we have to do is put the rest of the decorations back."

"Alrighty dighty then," I said. I grabbed his arm and pulled him downstairs. "Let's get these ornaments back on that tree, then get after Oogie. It is way past my nap time, dude."

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Jack paused as he looked over the damaged door. Casting me a look, I smiled sheepishly. Okay, I know I went a little overboard, but it was an emergency. Jack made a gesture that I took for rolling his eyes and walked over to the small directory. Picking up a pen and paper, he wrote out a note apologizing for the damage. Then we walked outside and made our way back to the Plaza.

All the elves swarmed as we came over, the little green elf leading the way. I thought his face would crack if he smiled any bigger. "Oh, please tell me you found the other decorations?" he asked, a little too desperately.

"Why yes, we did," Jack replied, pulling the star, candelabra, and candles from the house.

"You found them!" the elf cheered. "Hurry and hang them on the tree!"

Jack nodded and climbed the ladder to put the decorations on. When he placed the star on the tree, all the lights came on. All the elves cheered as Jack came down and stood next to me. I swear, if Jack weren't standing next to me, I'd drop kick each one and shout "Annnnnd It's good!" with my arms in the air.

"Oh, thank you, sir! You found all the items!" the green elf thanked Jack. "Now the Christmas Tree is ready for Christmas!"

"Yeah, it's looking good guys…" I said, eying the tree before realizing I had been snubbed by these pixie-toed midgets. "Wait just a candy coated moment! I found ornaments too!"

"Oh, sorry," the little elf replied. "I was just so excited, I guess I forgot."

"You'll have to forgive him, miss," said another elf. This one wore red pajamas and he had on a thick pair of geeky glasses. "Benny tends to be a bit of a scatterbrain at times. I can assure you, all of us appreciate both your efforts to help us put our town back in order."

"And…you are?"

"Bernard, Santa's Top Elf," he replied. "I'm in charge of keeping everyone on track."

"I'm glad we were able to help, but now we must get back to our task," Jack began to explain. "We need to find Sandy Claws before Oogie Boogie gets to him. Does anyone know where he might be?"

All the elves went silent. Bernard was the one to speak. "When those monsters came, we all tried to protect the presents, but we were outnumbered. That Oogie took all the presents and had his horrible minions wreck all of our factories. A few of us managed to escape, but the others are locked inside the toy factory along with Mrs. Claus. None of us have seen Santa Claus since."

"Can you show us where Oogie is keeping the presents?" Jack asked.

"The presents are loaded up in the sleigh in Christmas Junction," Bernard answered. "Benny and Henry can guide you. I'd go myself but someone has to look after the others."

"I understand. Thank you for your help." Jack shook the little guys hand, and then turned to me with a smile. "Ready, Al?" he asked, giving me the chance to stay behind.

As tempting as it was to finally have that nap, that over glorified pile of insects was high on my Hit List at the moment. No way I was gonna let Jack have all the fun. I grabbed my Macho Baby and set his electricity level to Dangerously Deadly.

"Okay Jack, let's go kick some Oogie sack!"

**XXX**

**GodlyJewel:** Oogie better watch his back, Al's on the hunt…but that's in the next chapter. We're getting close to the final battle. I can hardly wait!


End file.
